


Phoenix

by barbitone



Series: Voltron Fanfiction [30]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anal Sex, Bottom Shiro (Voltron), Emperor Lotor (Voltron), Established Relationship, Flashbacks, Glorious Return, Identity Reveal, M/M, Multiple Pov, Oral Sex, Politics, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Season/Series Finale, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sequel, Space Battles, Top Lotor (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-18 01:21:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 29,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18110432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbitone/pseuds/barbitone
Summary: “Oh Keith,” Krolia said sadly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Keith - it’s been over a deca-phoeb. He’s not coming back.”“No,” Keith said vehemently. “Shiro would never give up on me, I’ll never give up on him.”“Please, Keith,” she said quietly. “You’ve seen the readings for yourself. He’s gone.”Keith sighed, rubbing at his eyes. Maybe she was right but he couldn’t let himself think that way. “I’m going to find him. I always do- he always comes back.”“Alright, Keith,” she said, squeezing his shoulder before she left. That was almost worse than her telling him to give up but he wasn’t going to cry, he was going to keep going. He was going to find Shiro.[Sequel toPhantom]





	Phoenix

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Phantom](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17214530) by [barbitone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbitone/pseuds/barbitone). 



> This fic is a direct sequel to [Phantom](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17214530)
> 
> While it would help to read it, I've included a synopsis in the end notes, for those who don't feel like it or just need a refresher :)
> 
> This one took a while, and I have to give a big shout out to my amazing beta [Lutz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutz/pseuds/lutz) for sticking through it with me :)

 

***** Part I: Keith *****

 

“Maybe it’s time to stop,” Krolia said gently.

“ _No_ ,” Keith said. “You didn’t see him- you didn’t- he needs _help._ I have to find him.”

“Oh Keith,” she said sadly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “ _Keith_ \- it’s been over a deca-phoeb. He’s not coming back.”

“ _No_ ,” Keith said vehemently. “Shiro would never give up on me, I’ll _never_ give up on him.”

“Please, Keith,” she said quietly. “You’ve seen the readings for yourself. He’s gone.”

Keith sighed, rubbing at his eyes. Maybe she was right but he couldn’t let himself think that way. “I’m going to find him. I always do- he always comes back.”

“Alright, Keith,” she said, squeezing his shoulder before she left. That was almost worse than her telling him to give up but he wasn’t going to cry, he was going to keep going. He was going to find Shiro.

He went over the old readings again for what felt like the millionth time. He still didn’t know what had happened, still remembered the last time he saw Shiro like it was yesterday. He’d been so thin, so haggard, like something was eating him from the inside. His eyes had almost been glowing as he stared at Keith like he didn’t really see him, and _Lotor_ -

Maybe that was the strangest thing of all. Lotor had been there, alive and well and healthy, trying to convince Keith that he needed to come, needed to get to Shiro before it was too late. But he hadn’t gotten there in time, maybe if he’d been there he could have-

He sighed. It was too late now. According to all the readings Shiro had somehow opened a gateway into a different dimension and that was it. He was gone.

They’d been searching ever since but it was no use. But Shiro would never give up on him so he wouldn’t give up on Shiro. He kept looking.

The long range sensors beeped and Keith jerked up, staring. This wasn’t normal- this was- he wasn’t sure what it was. He hit the red alert as he prepared the ship for warp.

His officers were running to the bridge before he was even ready to make the jump, but he didn’t wait for them to get settled as he hit the warp controls and took them through.

“Captain Kogane,” his second in command said. “What is this?”

“I’m not sure,” Keith said slowly as he stared at what looked like a rip in space, a dark hole rippling with purple energy at the edges. The readings were off the charts, the rip was leaking rift energy and scrambling the sensors.

Krolia and Kolivan rushed to the bridge too, taking their spots at their consoles.

Keith wasn’t sure what to do next, and then the proximity alarm went off.

“We have incoming,” Kolivan said.

“Activate the particle barrier,” Keith ordered. “Ready the fighters- charge the ion cannon.”

“Yes sir,” one of his officers said and then there was nothing to do but wait.

Keith stared at the rip, his jaw tight with tension. His whole body was shaking so he tightened his fingers over the railing of the command platform as he tried to take deep breaths. _Patience_ _yields_ _focus_ he told himself, hearing it in Shiro’s voice.

His fingers tightened painfully over the railing as he narrowed his eyes. There was a ship coming through, crackling with energy. At first his heart seized up with hope- maybe it was the Atlas, maybe it was Shiro. But he could tell almost immediately this was something else.

“What the hell is that?” Keith demanded.

“Sir, it- it looks Altean,” one of his officers said.

It did look Altean, but something about it made Keith nervous. “Don’t let down your guard,” he said. “Target that ship, don’t fire until my mark.”

“Yes sir.”

Keith waited, his heart pounding as the Altean cruiser came through. Something about it seemed so familiar, something about it made him sick to his stomach.

“Contact the Coalition, we need back up!” Keith cried out as he realized what was happening, but it was already too late.

The Altean ship was through and opening fire. The first few shots were absorbed by the shields and then Keith’s fighters were launching even as the Altean ship launched its own.

“Fire the ion cannon!” Keith ordered and stared in horror as it was deflected harmlessly. “Send out an SOS on all frequencies. Send out a black alert.”

“Keith!” Krolia cried out. “You’re sure?”

“Yes,” Keith said, gritting his teeth as he prepared to die. “Yes. It’s them- the Altean Empire. They’ve found a way through. _Now_ \- send out the SOS, send everything. It’s a transdimensional invasion- summon all units.”

The proximity alarm went off again and Keith almost didn’t notice- but then the rip crackled blue and a mid-size ship entered the fray, some mix of Altean and Galra technology. Keith almost missed it- it was so small compared to the Altean ship, to his own.

“ _Keith_ ,” Krolia said in warning, and then the strange ship was glowing bright blue and letting out some sort of odd pulse and the Altean ship abruptly shut down.

“Take them out,” Keith said even as the strange ship moved to do the same, firing on the Altean cruiser.

Within minutes it was over, just Keith’s ship staring down the stranger, still wreathed in that odd blue energy. It fired another pulse, this time at the rip in space, and the tear began to close, sealing slowly like it was being pulled shut.

“Hail that ship,” he ordered.

It took a second but then the message was answered and he was looking into what looked like an Altean bridge and two figures in full armored space suits before him. One was sitting at the flight controls while the other was standing at a platform that looked like a Teleduv.

“This is Captain Keith Kogane of the Coalition, identify yourselves.”

“Which Coalition, exactly?” the pilot asked, his voice distorted by his helmet.

“Hold on,” the one at the Teleduv said, pulling up a holographic screen on his gauntlet. “I think this might be it- reality alpha prime.”

“You’re sure?” the pilot asked.

“As sure as I can be- why don’t you just ask?”

“Captain Kogane,” the pilot said, turning back to look at Keith. “Does the name _Atlas_ mean anything to you?”

Keith’s eyes widened. “How do you know about that?” he demanded. “Do you know where it went? Where it is? Do you know what happened to the Captain?”

The pilot laughed cheerfully, throwing his head back.

“Well don’t keep him in suspense,” the man at the Teleduv said.

The pilot took off his helmet, smiling widely. “Hey, Keith.”

Keith was too shocked to speak, his eyes filling up with tears of happiness even as he fought to keep _Shiro’s face_ in focus. It was him, undeniably him. He looked a little older, the corners of his eyes marked by laugh lines and his hair a little shorter. But it was him all the same. He looked _good_ , healthy and strong, tan and smiling like the way he used to back at the Garrison, before he went to Kerberos.

“Shiro?” Keith asked in a small voice, wiping at his eyes.

“Captain Shirogane,” Krolia said slowly. “Is that really you?”

“Yes,” he said, still smiling.

Keith knew even before the other man took off his helmet who it would be, but the rest of the people on the bridge gasped in shock.

“Emperor Lotor,” Kolivan said nervously.

Lotor looked good too, his white hair falling down to his shoulders. His Altean marks were glowing softly over his cheeks.

“Shiro, you’re clear to dock,” Keith said.

Shiro and Lotor exchanged a nervous look.

“Sorry Keith, we’re not going to do that,” Shiro said. “Please don’t try to take us by force.”

“Shiro- what the hell are you talking about?” Keith demanded. “I want to see you! I want to- I _need_ to see that you’re real, that you’re back.”

“Keith, come to our ship. Come alone- can you do that?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Krolia said.

“What are you talking about? It’s Shiro!”

“We’re not going to hurt him, Krolia,” Shiro said. “We just have to take certain precautions. After what we’ve been through- we have to be careful.”

“ _Mom,_ ” Keith hissed. “Please. I’m going.” He looked back at Shiro, staring expectantly back at him. “Yeah, Shiro- I can do that.”

The next few minutes were a blur and then Keith was sliding down out of his fighter and running into Shiro’s arms.

“Keith!” Shiro laughed, holding him tight and spinning him around.

“I knew you’d be back,” Keith whispered against his chest. “I _knew_ you’d be back. You always come back.”

“This time I really thought I wouldn’t be able to,” Shiro said. “It’s so good to see you Keith, I’m so sorry about everything, about how I left. About how I- abandoned you.”

“This is all very touching but I’m afraid we’re short on time,” Lotor said.

“Right,” Shiro said, pulling away. “Come on, let’s get to the bridge.”

“Shiro, what’s-“

“How long has it been, Keith?” Shiro asked. “How long has it been since- since you last saw me?”

“A year,” Keith said, letting Shiro lead him down the hall with an arm over his shoulders as Lotor followed.

“It’s been twenty years for us.”

“Twenty four, Shiro,” Lotor corrected.

“And for the past three of them we’ve been following in the wake of the Altean Empire,” Shiro said. “They came through our dimension, they-” he broke off and swallowed hard. He glanced back at Lotor oddly and then tightened his hand around Keith’s shoulders. “They’ve been looking for this place- this dimension. After you saw them when Lotor tricked us into retrieving the comet they became obsessed, consumed by the idea of a Galra Empire out of control. It was only a matter of time before they found a way to travel between dimensions, but as soon as they did they’ve been trying to come here.”

“But we destroyed them,” Keith said, his head spinning with everything that was happening.

“That was just a scout ship,” Lotor said. “We couldn’t stop them before they sent a transmission to their central command. They’ll come again, in full force. We need to summon all your Coalition troops, we need to evacuate Daibazaal.”

They walked out onto the bridge and Lotor moved over to the Teleduv controls, pulling up a holographic star chart that seemed so different than what Keith was used to. It looked like what he’d seen during the final battle four years ago, a shining core with branches splitting off from it. The branches were color coded, most were a dark purple while some were green and one was shining bright white.

“What is this?” Keith asked as he stared.

“We’ve been mapping the dimensions as we went,” Shiro explained. “We’re here now,” he said, pointing to the white branch. “We named it alpha prime, since that’s where we came from. This is where we’ve been most of the time, delta five, where I took us in the Atlas.” Shiro pointed to one of the green branches, a little brighter than the others.

“Captain Kogane,” Lotor said, “are there any Galra still loyal to me?”

“There are a few splinter cells left,” Keith said. “What- why?”

“We’ll need everyone,” Lotor said. “If I can get them to help us it may make the difference between the continued existence of this reality and total annihilation. If the Altean Empire can’t conquer this dimension they may destroy it completely, they have before.”

“This is all happening too fast,” Keith protested. “You just got back and now-”

“I know Keith,” Shiro said with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. But we don’t have any time to waste.”

“Shiro, maybe we should just dock on Captain Kogane’s cruiser,” Lotor said slowly. “Maybe we should-”

“ _No,_ ” Shiro said vehemently. “No- Lotor, please. I won’t risk losing you again.”

Lotor sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I understand, but-”

“No,” Shiro said. “It’s only been a year here- that means four years since the end of the war, seven years since you were Emperor of the Galra. What exactly is your status here? What if they try to take you and put you on trial, execute you-”

“ _Shiro,_ ” Lotor said. “We may not have a choice. It’s worth the risk to-”

“Shut _up_ ,” Shiro hissed. “Shut the _fuck_ up. No. I said no.”

Keith glanced between the two of them, wondering what exactly had happened between them.

“Fine,” Lotor said. “Fine- maybe we can still-”

“Keith, what exactly is your role in the Coalition now? Will they listen to you?”

“I think so,” Keith said slowly.

“Make them listen,” Shiro said firmly. “Lotor-?”

“Yes,” he said, typing furiously at his console until a small storage device popped out. He walked over to hand it to Keith. “These are all our findings from the past five deca-phoebs.”

Keith frowned as he wondered at the time frame- Shiro said they’d been following the Altean Empire for three years, hadn’t they? Why was it suddenly five?

“Show this to whoever you need,” Lotor continued firmly. “Show it to anyone you can- they’ll attack Daibazaal first, and then they’ll move on to conquer the rest of the universe, taking slave anyone who refuses to submit.”

“With the- the- _hoktril_ devices, right?” Keith asked, frowning as he remembered. It was so long ago now, but he remembered the horror of realizing that the supposedly benevolent Altean Empire was enslaving people and robbing them of their free will.

“Yes, Keith,” Shiro said quietly. “They claim to be peaceful but they won’t hesitate to send their slaves into battle. We’ve found a way to disrupt the devices, the info is on the disc. Find Slav, we’ll need him. We might be able to disrupt the hoktril signal and save the slaves, some of them at least, but they’ll need surgery to get the hoktril removed and Slav will be able to figure out a way.

“I’m sorry, Keith- I wish we had more time. But you have to go now- you have to tell them. You have to get ready.”

“Shiro, wait!” Keith said. “You just got back- I can’t just leave you!”

“You have to, Keith,” Shiro said even as he pulled Keith back into his arms.

Keith closed his eyes, shaking as he clutched at Shiro’s back. He wanted to cry again, he wanted to stop and absorb everything that was happening, he wanted to rest and just- spend a _second_ with him that wasn’t tainted by urgency and fear.

“There will be time after, I promise,” Shiro said. “I know this is hard, I wish I could tell you everything- I will. Later. But we have to get through this first. Patience yields focus, Keith. I know it’s a lot, but I need you to focus. Can you do that for me?”

“Yeah,” Keith said, pulling back. His vision was blurry again with unshed tears but he wiped them away.

“Return to your ship,” Lotor ordered. “Look at the disc- transmit the data to everyone in your Coalition. Start the evacuation and build up your forces at Daibazaal, prepare for a full scale transdimensional invasion. Shiro and I will bring in the rogue Galra- I can only hope it will be enough.”

“Alright,” Keith said. “Alright. Shiro-”

Shiro looked down at him, still smiling so softly. Keith couldn’t help the wave of joy that rushed through him. He hadn’t seen Shiro smiling like that since before Kerberos. He couldn’t help remembering the first time they met, all the times Shiro helped him, looked out for him. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was the same man, that he was genuine in everything he’d said.

“It’s good to have you back,” he said.

“It’s good to be back,” Shiro said. “I missed you, Keith. And now we’re going to save the universe together- again.”

Despite the tense situation, despite _Lotor_ standing right there staring at them, Keith laughed.

“Yeah,” he said. “We will.”

 

***** Part II: Shiro *****

 

“Ready?” Shiro asked.

“No,” Lotor said. “I don’t think I could ever be. I put my dreams of ruling the Galra to rest so long ago and now I find the very idea- claustrophobic.”

“It’ll only be for a little while,” Shiro said, taking Lotor’s hands and drawing him closer. “Just until this is over.”

“And then what?” Lotor asked. “How can I stay here after what Haggar did in my name?”

“We don’t have to stay here, after this is done we can go home to delta five,” Shiro said.

Lotor’s eyes widened. “You don’t really mean that.”

“I do,” Shiro said, pulling Lotor’s hands up to kiss the backs of his knuckles.

“But Shiro, what about your friends?”

“What about my family?” Shiro asked, tapping his thumb against Lotor’s wedding ring. “We don’t have to decide right now. Right now we have work to do.”

“You’re right,” Lotor said, looking down at their hands. “Open a secure channel.”

Shiro kissed him firmly before going over to sit in the pilot’s seat. Keith had given them the data he had on the rogue Galra splinter cells and Lotor had been able to use it to figure out how best to reach them. Now they just had to send out a message and hope it was answered.

“Sure you don’t want to put your helmet back on so you can take it off dramatically at the beginning of the message?”

“I’m not dramatic,” Lotor protested.

“You’re the most dramatic person I’ve ever met,” Shiro laughed. Lotor smiled back and the tension around his eyes eased a little.

“Kova,” Lotor called out and the cat yawned and stretched where it was lying curled up in the co-pilot's seat. “Yes you, lazy boy. Come up here, you’re going to be in my message.”

Kova meowed pitifully, tilting his head to the side like what Lotor was asking was a huge imposition.

“Come on, Kova,” Lotor said, patting his shoulder. Kova finally jumped off the chair and padded over. “Thank you, Koko- come on up now,” Lotor said as he bent to pick Kova up and help him up to his shoulder. Kova started purring and Lotor seemed to relax further, taking a deep breath before facing forward.

“I’m ready.”

“Alright, opening a channel- ready.” Shiro raised his hand, holding up three fingers to count down.

“Warriors of the Galra Empire,” Lotor started. “Your Emperor has returned. I call upon you now to help defend this universe from transdimensional invaders- this matter is of the utmost urgency and importance. Any who are still loyal to me will present themselves at the coordinates transmitted along with this message.”

He paused for a moment and Shiro could tell he was nervous even though he doubted anyone else would be able to see it. “I did not wish to leave you. I did not wish to stay away so long- but I have returned. Show your allegiance now, join me.”

Shiro cut off the transmission and Lotor sagged with a gasp, dropping to one knee.

“I’m going to be sick,” he breathed out.

“You’re going to be alright,” Shiro said as he stood and walked over to sit beside him. “That was good, that was exactly what we needed.”

Lotor rubbed at his temples and Shiro drew him closer, sinking his hand into Lotor’s hair to carefully run his fingers over his hoktril scar.

“Does it hurt?” he whispered.

“No,” Lotor said, shivering as he pushed his face against Shiro’s shoulder. “Not more than usual. That’s not-“

Kova purred loudly and slowly Lotor calmed.

“How long do you think it will take?” Shiro asked.

“The Alteans will be preparing to launch now, they won’t wait for us to get ready. We have maybe a varga left, two at most.”

“No, I meant- I meant for the Galra to come to your call.”

“I don’t know,” Lotor whispered. “What if no one comes?”

“They’ll come,” Shiro said firmly. “I know they will.”

They sat together for a few long minutes before the first fleet warped into space before them.

“ _Emperor Lotor- this is Commander Bogh. My sword is yours, my fleet is yours.”_

Lotor stood slowly, moving to answer even as another fleet appeared, ragged and mismatched, a few ships clearly stolen and shoddily repaired.

“ _Emperor Lotor- this is Commander Kragg. My sword is yours, my fleet is yours.”_

“ _Emperor Lotor- this is Commander Lahn. My sword is yours, my fleet is yours.”_

“But he pledged himself to the Coalition,” Shiro said in surprise.

And then there were more and more and Lotor stared out at all of them, his lips parted and his eyes wide with surprise.

_“Emperor Lotor- this is Warlord Gnov. My sword is yours, my fleet is yours.”_

Three Altean mechas appeared, pausing to drift in space. _“Emperor Lotor- this is Alok, Evaan, and Loreia- we answer your call, we obey.”_

_“Emperor Lotor- this is Rodak. My sword is yours, my ship is yours.”_

_“Emperor Lotor- this is Captain Zerik. My sword is yours, my ship is yours.”_

_“Emperor Lotor- this is Commander Dayak. My sword is yours, my fleet is yours.”_

_“Emperor Lotor-“_

_“Emperor Lotor-“_

_“Emperor Lotor-“_

_“-my sword is yours-“_

_“-my fleet is-“_

_“-answer your call-“_

_“-my ship-“_

_“-we obey-“_

_“Emperor Lotor-“_

_“-is yours-“_

_“-yours-“_

_“-yours-“_

_“-yours-“_

_“Emperor Lotor-“_

“Oh my god,” Shiro said, afraid and overjoyed at the same time. This was so much more than they could have ever hoped for. There were dozens of cruisers and even more small crafts, with still more coming in and announcing themselves until their voices blended together into something like vague background noise. This was more than an armada, this was a force the likes of which hadn’t been assembled since Zarkon’s time.

“There,” Lotor said, his hand trembling as he pointed to a small Blade of Marmora ship. “They haven’t announced themselves. Hail them.”

“Identify yourselves,” Shiro ordered as he opened a channel.

The message was answered and Shiro didn’t need to look back to know that Lotor’s fingers had tightened over the railing of the Teleduv platform.

“Lotor,” Acxa said quietly, Ezor and Zethrid standing fearfully at her side. “Lotor- I’m sorry. We’re sorry. We answer your call- our swords are yours.”

Lotor exhaled sharply as Kova hissed.

“Lotor, please,” Acxa said.

“Do I have your allegiance?” Lotor asked coldly.

“Yes,” Acxa said.

“Is that so?” Lotor asked. “Or will you betray me for a third time?”

“Please,” Acxa said. “We answer your call. We obey.”

“See that you do,” Lotor said and waved his hand, signaling for Shiro to cut off the transmission.

“Lotor-“ Shiro started.

“It’s fine,” Lotor cut him off. “I’m fine. Hail my armada.”

“Ready,” Shiro said quietly, holding up three fingers to count down.

“My warriors,” Lotor addressed his army. “Today we face a threat unlike any we’ve faced before, an Altean Empire from an alternate reality. Their armies are vast and powerful but I’ve found the means with which we will defeat them. I’m transmitting shield and weapons frequencies- see that you make adjustments accordingly. We must leave immediately to save Daibazaal-”

 _“My Emperor-”_ and that sounded like Warlord Gnov. _“Why should we bother protecting the Coalition’s puppet state?”_

 _“Let them burn,”_ someone snarled.

_“They are not loyal- they bent the knee to a sham government-”_

_“They did what they had to in order to survive!”_ Commander Lahn cried out. _“The only other choice was annihilation-”_

_“Then they should have chosen annihilation! The Galra way is victory or death-”_

_“You’re a traitor just like the rest of them, Lahn,”_ Gnov said. _“Just because you returned with your tail between your legs when your Emperor called doesn’t mean we will forget or forgive the way you joined them, you filthy coward!”_

_“Emperor Lotor- now that you’ve returned you can lead us to glory-”_

_“The new Galra Empire will not bow to Coalition dogs-”_

_“Let them all burn, let the Altean Empire wipe them away for us. We will return to our rightful place-”_

_“We will rise from the ashes of New Daibazaal, the ruins of the filthy Coalition-”_

_“We will rebuild the Empire-”_

_“We will-”_

_“Burn everyone who dared stand against us, who tried to subjugate us-”_

“That’s enough,” Lotor snarled. “I am here to end a war, not start another.”

 _“You’d have us lay down our lives to protect a Coalition planet?”_ Gnov asked incredulously.

“I’d have you obey your Emperor, like you all swore to do.”

 _“You were gone seven deca-phoebs and now you return with no explanation, with the Wraith of Oriande, Captain of the cursed Atlas, the fucking_ Black Paladin _at your side and ask us to sacrifice ourselves for the very people who nearly destroyed us?”_

“Is there an expiration date on Galra loyalty?” Lotor asked coldly.

 _“Some said you were Voltron’s puppet Emperor, but I did not believe it- not until now,”_ Gnov sneered.

 _“How dare you make such accusations?”_ Dayak yelled into the comms and then there was chaos.

Lotor stared up at the screen as his army fell apart. And then he set his jaw and scowled as a fresh wave of determination washed over him. Blue lightning ran over his knuckles as he set his hands over the Teleduv controls.

Their ship let out a crackling blue pulse and the squabbling came to an abrupt halt as the comms shut down and Lotor took control.

“This is what we’re facing,” he said coldly, pushing his own memories into the minds of everyone assembled before him. Shiro had seen it before, most of it at least, had seen some of it with his own eyes. It was no less horrible now than the first time and he winced, bringing his hands up to his temples to try and push back the pain. He saw-

A beautiful palace, a cold Empress, an Altean armada, and then the slaves- legions of dead-eyed Nocogs marching obediently to their deaths. Lotor made sure to show his no-doubt horrified captive audience with great detail what the Alteans did with their Galra slaves-

Stripped and flogged, they did not receive the so called mercy of the hoktril, they screamed in agony as they were hooked into pods that drained them of their quintessence to power the Altean ships. Once they were little more than dry husks they were discarded dispassionately, jettisoned into space to forever float in cold nothingness like refuse, denied even a funeral.

 _“Here we are all safe and warm,”_ the Empress said, smiling softly. _“Aren’t we, my pet?”_

She was beautiful and terrible, sitting on a throne of cold marble with flowers strewn about her feet, a crown of juniberries decorating her brow and dark red marks over her face, like Haggar had after she’d been corrupted by the rift. The Empress’ eyes were glowing, her teeth were sharp as she smiled.

_“Come here, my pet. No need to be afraid. I’ll take such good care of you- of all of you.”_

“There is no way for any of you to _possibly_ understand how little patience I have for your pathetic squabbling,” Lotor said. “ _This_ is what’s coming for us-”

He showed them fire and destruction, an entire universe wiped away in a flash of light and heat. He showed them a mass grave on an unimaginable scale, billions dead.

_“Peace at last, my pet. Isn’t it beautiful?”_

He showed them an execution, the Empress standing as she ordered a Nocog to stop breathing. He did as he was told, not making a sound as he simply- died at her feet.

“This is what’s coming for _you_ \- each one of you.”

He showed them Galra screaming, shriveling to nothing in pods, torn apart and executed, trampled under the great Altean war machine.

“I’ll have no more complaints, only obedience. We leave for Daibazaal in fifteen doboshes. You have until then to adjust your shields and weapons. Those too cowardly to follow me will be hunted down and gutted once this is over, and it will still be a better fate than what the Alteans have in store for you.”

Shiro shut down the transmission and practically sprinted to catch Lotor before he collapsed.

“You probably shouldn’t have done that,” he said.

“I had to do something, you heard them.”

“Fifteen doboshes won’t be enough to recover from that display. Maybe we can give it more time-”

“I’ll be fine, just give me a stim shot.”

“You can’t just keep pushing yourself-”

“ _Shiro_ ,” Lotor said, rolling his eyes as though he wasn’t currently shaking like a leaf and too weak to stand. “Please. You are not my governess.”

“No,” Shiro said. “She’s out there, offering you her sword and her fleet. Maybe we should bring her in here, hmm? I think she’d be on my side of this one.”

“Heavens forbid,” Lotor said dryly as he watched Shiro pull a small canister out of the pouch at his belt.

“This is your fifth one today,” Shiro said as he opened the top and took Lotor’s hand, injecting him carefully. “That’s it, no more. I’m serious- after you open the Teleduv to Daibazaal you’re done with magic until you’ve gotten a full night’s sleep.”

“You know I can’t promise that,” Lotor said quietly. “They’ll come here in full force, we’ll need every advantage we can get.”

“You could _die_ , you stupid fuck!” Shiro said, suddenly angry. “And then what am I supposed to do? I’ll follow you into the afterlife just to beat the shit out of you so don’t think you’ll be getting off easy.”

“It’ll be worth it to stop them for good.”

Shiro sighed and turned away. It was useless arguing and he didn’t want to waste what little time they had left together. “I think I heard Doctor Rodak out there,” he said. “I’m glad he’s still alright. Maybe we could bring him in here for you. Maybe he could do something to help that’s better than pumping you full of stimulants.”

“I doubt he’d want to be on the same ship as you again,” Lotor said, poking him in the side with his elbow.

Shiro laughed in surprise. “That was at least four lifetimes ago. You think he’s not over it by now?”

“It’s been that long for us. Don’t forget- only a deca-phoeb passed for him. Besides, I think he might have been the one calling for the New Galra Empire not to bow to Coalition dogs.”

“Who was the one obsessed with burning everything down?” Shiro asked as he took Lotor’s hand, twining their fingers together.

“It sounded like Ranveig, but I thought he’d died at the Kral Zera? You’re right- it all feels so long ago. Maybe even five lifetimes.”

“Maybe six,” Shiro said with a smile. He wrapped his arm around Lotor, pulling him closer against his side even as Kova meowed and jumped up to sprawl out over both of them. They sat in silence as they waited for the rest of the fifteen minutes to pass, and then Lotor took a deep breath and got to his feet.

“It’s time, Shiro.”

“I know,” he whispered and stepped forward to take Lotor’s face in his hands and kiss him deeply. “The universe isn’t going to save itself.”

Lotor smiled. “I really wish it would- at least once.”

“What would be the fun in that?” Shiro asked as he went over to sit in the pilot’s seat. “Ready? You want to hail them again?”

“They’ll follow or they won’t,” Lotor said like he couldn’t care less, even though that was the farthest thing from the truth. “Transmit my orders but I don’t want to talk to them again.”

“You got it.”

Lotor took another deep breath as Kova rubbed up against his legs anxiously. He opened the portal and Shiro took them through without looking back.

 

***** Part III: Pidge *****

 

“Damn, I think they’re almost here,” Matt said.

Pidge cursed- they were only half way through the evacuation of Daibazaal. “I see it,” she said, staring at the sensor display going wild. “There’s a dimensional rip starting to open. Maybe we can still stop it. Are the zeiforge cannons in alignment?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, modulating the pulse,” Pidge said, her hands flying wild over her console. “And- ready to fire. On my mark.”

“Here goes nothing,” Matt muttered.

“And- mark.”

He fired the cannons but the rip only absorbed the blast, glowing around the edges as it opened wider.

“Here’s a crazy idea,” Hunk said. “What if we actually, I dunno- listened to what Shiro and Lotor said? They sent us a weapons frequency that should help prevent the rip from spreading.”

“You’re not seriously suggesting we trust _Lotor_ ,” Lance said. “What the hell is even going on there? He saunters back in here with Shiro in tow after that whole Atlas thing like nothing even happened and we’re just supposed to trust him? Maybe he was the one that did that to Shiro in the first place. Maybe he’s the one who brought the Altean Empire here.”

“I don’t know,” Keith said. “He tried to help me a year ago, he tried to help me get Shiro back. And when I saw them earlier they seemed… I don’t know. But I think Hunk is right. I think we should try it. Pidge?”

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered as she plugged in Lotor’s weapons frequency. “Ready to fire, on my mark.”

“Ready,” Matt said.

“And- mark.”

The zeiforge cannons fired again, and this time the rip _shivered_ , its edges rippling with blue energy.

“It’s not opening any further,” Matt said with relief. “But I think it will as soon as we stop.”

“How long can we maintain the zeiforge pulse?” Keith asked.

“I don’t know, we’ve never done tests with this sort of frequency,” Pidge said. “Ten minutes, at least. I hope.”

“Alright, I’m going up there, I need to lead my fleet. Lance- you’ve got blue team, I need you as back up. Hunk- take yellow team and take over the evacuation, we have to hurry. Pidge-”

“I know,” she said with a grin. “Green team. Matt, you’ve got home base.”

“Be careful up there,” Matt said as the four of them left the Daibazaal ground control station.

“Sure would be nice to have the Lions for this one,” Hunk said sadly as the four of them walked to the hangar to get to their ships. “I miss Yellow.”

“Even if we had the Lions, we don’t exactly have enough pilots for Voltron,” Keith said. “We’ll have to make do with what we have. The rest of the Coalition forces are on their way, and we have the new Voltron teams in place. We’ve handled worse, haven’t we? We can do this.”

“Since when are you Mr. Optimistic?” Lance asked.

“Since Shiro came back,” Keith said with a grin. “Now come on, we’re not going to let him down.”

“Sir, yes sir!” Pidge said with a mock salute before climbing into her ship. “Ready for take-off.”

“Let’s go,” Keith said.

The atmosphere was thick with civilian ships leaving and there were already five Coalition fleets in orbit. Pidge flew past the Zeiforge cannons, aligned to magnify their power as they maintained an energy ray pointed at the rip. Now that she was closer she could practically feel the rift energy leaking from the dark opening. It was sickening, throbbing oddly until it felt like everything was shivering around her, the ship, the very air. She swallowed nervously. It was easy to fake bravado in front of everyone, but here- alone in her cockpit- there was no one to hide her fear from except herself.

 _“The Zeiforge cannons are starting to overload,”_ Matt said through the comms. _“They weren’t designed for this sort of sustained blast.”_

“How much time do we have?” Pidge asked.

_“I don’t know, a few minutes.”_

“Can you cycle them somehow?”

_“No, we need all six to maintain a strong enough pulse.”_

_“Maybe we can modulate our weapons to the same frequency,”_ Keith said. _“Maybe it’ll be enough to close the rip.”_

 _“It’s worth a shot,”_ Matt said. _“Transmitting weapons frequency now-”_

“Wait, something’s happening,” Pidge said as her sensors went wild. “Something-”

Something flew out of the rip and exploded, sending a shock wave like she’d never seen before through the assembled Coalition forces. Her ship was engulfed in crackling purple energy and she screamed in pain as the world went white.

She came to in a dead ship and stared in horror as she realized the entire planet and everything in orbit was shut down. The rip was growing exponentially and there was a strange sound inside her mind, like static, like whispering, like a woman’s voice saying-

_“Submit to peace, submit to the Empire. Here we are all safe and warm.”_

Pidge frantically tried the controls, trying to reboot the ship. The power was starting to come back online but it was so slow, too slow. There was something coming through the rip, or- no. Some _things_ \- dozens of Altean cruisers sliding into their dimension to take position around the planet, and then something bigger. The rip pulsed and crackled as a massive ship began to emerge, shaped vaguely like the Castle of Lions but at least the size of Zarkon’s command ship, maybe even bigger.

_“Submit to peace, submit to the Empire. Here we are all safe and warm.”_

Where was the message coming from? The comms were dead, everything was- Pidge screamed and clutched at her head, there was a vision pushing into her mind, a woman-

Beautiful and cold, smiling a cruel smile. Her eyes were glowing, her white hair was long and wild down her back. Her lips didn’t move but Pidge could _hear_ her.

_“I’ve come to liberate this reality from the Galra scourge. I’ve come to bring you peace.”_

“I don’t fucking think so,” Pidge muttered as she tried to take a deep breath and push the woman out of her mind. But she was too strong, an Altean Empress in her prime, probably schooled on Oriande, trained in the ways of Altean magic. She probably had powers none of them could even imagine, much less fight against. Her army was still coming through, at least a hundred cruisers, maybe more, and the Coalition forces were only now regaining some small scraps of power, barely enough to start their engines much less charge their weapons.

_“Submit. Surrender. Obey.”_

The last message came with a fresh wave of pain and Pidge screamed again. And then abruptly it stopped.

_“Here you are, my pet. I knew you’d return to me. It’s time to come home.”_

The Empress’s attention shifted away and Pidge could finally draw a deep breath, could finally open her eyes to see a massive Teleduv portal standing open between the Altean armada and the Coalition troops. A mid size ship hurtled through, already firing. It was a mix between Altean and Galra technology, impossibly fast as it weaved through the enemy craft.

The Alteans didn’t attack it, turning instead to try to catch it in their tractor beams and shifting out of their careful alignment. The pilot was too good to be caught, threading the needle between them easily as he goaded them on, baiting them into turning their backs to the portal.

 _“It’s Shiro-”_ Keith said as the comms finally came back on. _“It’s-”_

“The Galra,” Pidge said, her eyes wide as she stared at the Galra cruisers and fighters and support craft and _Altean mechas_ coming through the portal. There were so many of them, so many more than they’d thought were left. Now that they stood united again they were an army twice the size of the Coalition. “They could wipe us all out,” Pidge whispered.

But the Galra moved silently past the rebooting Coalition ships before opening fire on the Alteans all at once.

 _“Everyone- engage the Alteans,”_ Keith ordered. _“Now! Go!”_

Pidge’s ship was finally responding and she gritted her teeth as she joined the fight. She wasn’t exactly new to battle but this was chaos like she’d never experienced before. They were fighting an unknown enemy with untrustworthy allies at their backs. She tried to catch sight of Shiro but she only managed to catch brief glances as his ship hurtled past, leaving destruction in its wake.

More Coalition fleets arrived until the Alteans were outnumbered. Pidge allowed herself to smile, to hope, but then the Altean Command Ship fired an ion blast that destroyed ten cruisers all at once, and that was when Pidge knew- they were in serious trouble.

 _“We have to take out the Command Ship,”_ Keith ordered, diverting fleets to focus on it. But its shields held strong, deflecting their weapons like they were nothing.

“We can’t get through the shields,” Pidge bit out, “these weapons frequencies aren’t working-”

 _“Get back,”_ and that sounded like Shiro. _“We’ll take care of it, stay out of the blast radius.”_

 _“What the hell are you talking about?”_ Keith demanded. _“Shiro- what are you doing? Don’t-”_

Shiro’s ship was glowing blue, crackling oddly, and then he was hurtling right at the Altean Command Ship. His ship passed through the shields like a hot knife through butter and there was a bright flash as they crashed into the Castle and its lights flickered, its particle barrier shutting down.

 _“SHIRO!”_ Keith yelled frantically, but the only answer was static.

“Green team,” Pidge forced out even as she tried to hold back tears. “Green team- attack. Take out the head ship.”

 

***** Part IV: Lotor *****

 

Lotor’s ears were ringing, everything _hurt_. There was something scratching at his face, something- Kova. It was Kova, licking him. He winced as he sat up, pushing his disheveled hair out of his eyes.

“Shiro?” he whispered.

“Oh fuck,” Shiro groaned. “That was so stupid.”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“I don’t care, I’m never listening to you again.”

Lotor smiled despite himself, and then the smile slid off his face as he took in the wreckage of their beautiful ship. The Teleduv pillars were shattered, the controls completely destroyed and the bridge full of smoke and debris. There was no repairing this, the ship was gone. It had been their home for so long, it had been a gift from his father, the only gift he’d ever received-

He inhaled sharply as he tried to focus. That Zarkon was not his father but a stranger, and yet- that moment had smoothed over something jagged and sharp inside him, brought him a sense of peace he hadn’t ever been expecting to experience.

“We need to move,” Shiro said, standing. “Can you walk?”

Even after all this time together Lotor’s instinct was to lie, to hide any form of weakness. He took a deep breath, trying not to cough from the smoke, as he took stock of his own body.

“I’m not sure,” he said, even though he knew the more honest answer was a simple _no_. He was so exhausted. Shiro had been right, he shouldn’t have been using magic after the Teleduv, even that had been a stretch. But they needed to break through the Command Ship’s shields and there hadn’t been another way. “I need a stim shot.”

Shiro walked over and pressed his fingers to Lotor’s throat, taking his pulse. “No,” he said at last. “We’ll have to make do.”

“ _Shiro_ ,” Lotor said, suddenly terrified. “Shiro, we’re _on her ship_. How are we going to get out of here while I’m in this pathetic state? Just one more, please-”

“I don’t think your heart can take it,” Shiro said firmly even as he slid under Lotor’s shoulder before helping him up. Lotor whimpered at the sharp pain in his knees, his back. “Believe me, you’ll be in an even more pathetic state if you go into cardiac arrest. Don’t be afraid, I’m here with you.”

Lotor bit back the automatic retort that he wasn’t afraid. It would be a lie- he was more afraid than he’d ever been in his life as Shiro led them off the bridge, unholstering his blaster as they went.

“Do you recognize where we are?” Shiro asked as they stepped out of the wreckage.

Lotor squinted as he took in their surroundings. They’d made quite a mess with their crash landing, the remains of their ship lying amidst torn up flowers and vines, water pouring down out of a broken fountain to pool around their feet.

“The imperial gardens,” Lotor said slowly.

He used to like it here- or a least he’d liked it as much as an empty husk could like anything. He used to spend vargas sitting at the fountain, silently watching the gold and silver fish swimming around within as the Empress’s ladies braided flowers into his hair. It was strange to have a memory devoid of any thought or emotion, it only made everything else so much more vivid in his mind’s eye- the feeling of a fine-toothed comb running through his hair, the way the fish scales glittered in the artificial light, the gentle sound of splashing water.

“We’re close to the inner sanctum,” Lotor said, trying not to get lost in the past. “There should be a hangar nearby, we can try and steal one of the ships there-”

_“Welcome home, my pet.”_

She was standing right there by the ruined fountain, looking directly at him with her sharp glowing eyes. Her robes were billowing gently, her white hair falling down her back in wild waves.

Lotor flinched and closed his eyes, clenching his teeth against the fear, the feeling of being frozen and alone. But he wasn’t alone anymore, Shiro was with him.

Shiro didn’t hesitate to raise his blaster and fire at the Empress even as she simply laughed and disappeared.

“Where did she go?” Shiro asked, breathing hard as he looked around. Her laughter echoed through the gardens, seeming to come from all directions at once.

Lotor knew with full certainty that it was already too late- for him, for Shiro, for everyone. Maybe the Galra Empire and the Coalition would beat back the Alteans this time around, but they’d just retreat back into their home dimension to lick their wounds before returning, stronger than before.

“Stay with me, Lotor,” Shiro said. “It’s not over yet.”

_“Oh, but it is.”_

Lightning arced through the gardens before enveloping them and Lotor screamed as he fell to his knees. And then she was there for him, taking him by the throat to push him back against the ground. He grabbed at her arm but she was so strong, and he was so tired.

 _“Stop fighting,”_ she crooned gently. _“You’re no match for me even on your best day, pet- and yet you had the audacity to come here while you can barely stand. Brave- that’s why you’re my favorite. Or perhaps deep down you wanted to come home to me.”_

“No,” Lotor bit out, redoubling his efforts to escape. Where was Shiro? What had she done? Was he still alive?

 _“You’re just a rift-born halfbreed,”_ she said with a smile. _“And yet I offer you a place at my side. How dare you refuse me?”_

She tightened her hand threateningly, but not so much that he couldn’t breathe. She wouldn’t kill him and Lotor suddenly wished she would. It would be better than being an empty husk again, stripped of everything that made him alive, made him himself.

_“I’ve made mistakes with you, it’s true. I shouldn’t have asked you to kill him- you were stronger than the others, the only one who broke free. But I know how to take care of you now, my pet. I’ll break you first, I’ll kill him myself for you, take away everything you love and hold dear. I’ll destroy your race, your planet, conquer your universe and leave you with nothing. Afterwards you won’t be quite so eager to run off, I think. Afterwards you’ll beg me for your hoktril, your collar, for anything I choose to give you.”_

A blaster shot rang out and she hissed and drew back, standing to face Shiro with a grimace.

 _“I tire of you_ ,” she said as she flexed her fingers, purple lightning flickering over her knuckles.

“What a coincidence,” Shiro said, wiping blood away from a cut over his cheek. “I’m pretty tired of you too.”

She scowled as she threw lightning at him but he ducked the first shot and blocked the second with his right palm. It began to glow purple, absorbing her magic, and she drew back wide-eyed.

“Yeah, we’ve made a few upgrades since last time,” Shiro said with a dark grin before sending her own power back at her. She wasn’t expecting it, she hadn’t really considered either of them to be a threat until now, and the beam hit her in the chest. She staggered back with a gasp, staring at the scorch mark in her fine robes.

Shiro shot at her with the blaster and she pulled up a wave of purple energy to shield herself.

They paused, staring at each other as they were caught in an impasse. He couldn’t fire through her barrier, she couldn’t use her magic on him directly without giving him more ammunition. And then the Command Ship shook with a powerful impact and Lotor heard a sound he hadn’t heard in decades- an echoing roar so loud it made the very air tremble.

The roar disrupted the flow of quintessence through the room and the plants around them flickered, revealing the truth underneath- there was nothing alive here, just sand and rubble. Everything else was a hologram, an illusion, another lie. Knowing that made Lotor suddenly furious and he struggled to sit up, panting as he stared at the fountain, unable to let go of the vision of glittering scales, slow moving fish.

He gasped and shielded his face with his arm as something ripped through the wall, something huge and sharp and shining silver and black- a massive metallic paw. And then the Black Lion was forcing its head into the garden and opening its jaw wide to roar again.

Shiro laughed in answer, almost like he was surprised, and the Black Bayard materialized in his hand.

“ _No,”_ the Empress said with alarm. _“No, he’s mine.”_ She turned away from Shiro and the Lion and back to Lotor, advancing on him where he still sat on the ground. She wasn’t _walking_ so much as flickering in and out of existence, getting closer with each moment. There was no way Shiro could get to him in time, no way for anyone to help him now. Even so Lotor gritted his teeth and fought to stand so he could face her, but he was so tired-

“ _Lotor_!” Shiro yelled, reaching for him.

Lotor stared back and suddenly he knew what he had to do. He didn’t look away from Shiro’s eyes as the Empress wrapped her hand around his throat. Lotor smiled at the familiar feeling of Shiro’s bayard materializing in his hand and forming a glowing purple sword. Shiro was here, just like before. Shiro could give him everything he needed, Shiro could give him the strength to do this.

The Empress gasped, her eyes widening in shock as he impaled her on his blade. _“My pet-”_

“I am not your _pet_ ,” Lotor snarled, looking up at her now. He twisted the blade and her lips fell open as blood dripped from her mouth. “I am a warrior, an Alchemist, and an Emperor. And _you_ -” he twisted the blade again viciously, “are just another witch that tried to use me against my will. That was a mistake.”

He watched with cold satisfaction as the life faded from her eyes, and then winced as she sagged against him, her dead weight pinning him down. The blade disappeared as the bayard returned to its normal form and Lotor pushed her corpse off of himself, breathing hard as satisfaction turned to revulsion.

“Easy,” Shiro whispered, kneeling beside him and taking the bayard out of his grip. “Easy, it’s over now- are you alright?”

“I might throw up, but otherwise I guess so,” he managed. He closed his eyes and leaned into it when Shiro wrapped his arms around him and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“You’ll be alright,” Shiro said with such deep confidence that Lotor couldn’t help but be filled with warmth. “We’d better go,” Shiro continued as he helped Lotor stand up. “Our ride is here.”

The Black Lion roared again, so quietly it was more like a purr, like it was acknowledging what Shiro had said.

“Come on Koko,” Lotor called weakly and Kova ran forward to climb up his body before settling over his shoulders. “It’s time to finish this.”

 

***** Part V: Hunk *****

 

Hunk couldn’t believe it as he watched the _Lions_ flying into the fray. He hadn’t seen where they’d come from, they were suddenly just _there_ , with Black ripping into the Command ship where Shiro had crashed while the other four seemed to be guarding it.

Hunk could feel the old bond flaring through him, warm and familiar. He grinned despite himself, he’d missed Yellow so much and now it had come back to him.

 _“Paladins,”_ Shiro said over the comms. _“I think this seems like a pretty good time to form Voltron, don’t you?”_

“Yeah,” Hunk laughed. It had been a while and he was a little rusty, but it wasn’t like this was his first time piloting his Lion while he wasn’t in the cockpit. And Yellow was right there with him, helping him, and suddenly he was looking through the Lion’s eyes. “Ready,” he said.

 _“Ready,”_ Pidge said half a minute later, sounding giddy and victorious.

 _“Ready,”_ Keith said, practically laughing with relief at hearing Shiro’s voice.

 _“Lance?”_ Shiro asked.

_“I- I don’t know. I don’t feel- Blue won’t let me in, our bond is gone.”_

_“It’s not gone, Lance,”_ Shiro said firmly. _“It can’t be- that’s not how it works. Talk to Blue- she’s listening.”_

Hunk waited with bated breath and he didn’t need to hear Lance’s surprised laugh to know it had worked, he could feel Lance’s presence in their group bond.

 _“Good work, team,”_ Shiro said. _“Now- form Voltron.”_

They flew in formation and when they transformed Hunk was suddenly overwhelmed by the mindscape, by how close he felt to the others. But most of all he was overwhelmed by _Shiro_ , by the way his mind seemed to loom so huge over them. Maybe it was because he was the only one actually in his Lion, or maybe it was something else.

Shiro had never felt this way before, he’d always been guarded and distant, but now he was pouring all of himself into the bond and it felt like pure strength, like hot steel wrapping around all of them. Hunk couldn’t quite catch his breath at it, at how powerful and dangerous Shiro felt, like a wildfire, like a storm, like a tidal wave. He was everywhere at once, it felt like he was piloting Voltron while the rest of them were just along for the ride.

He didn’t speak anymore, he didn’t need to- they could all hear him through the bond like he was right there, standing beside them.

The battle was a blur but it didn’t matter. With the Galra on their side and the Command Ship disabled it was only a matter of time.

 _“Can you close it?”_ Shiro asked faintly and Hunk frowned, unsure who he was talking to.

 _“Yes,”_ came another voice, even quieter.

And then Shiro was taking control of Voltron and doing- _something_. Hunk didn’t know how to describe it, it felt like Shiro was holding them tight, so tight it almost hurt, it felt like he was channelling quintessence through all of them and focusing it inwards. Voltron paused, hovering in space before the rip, and then a powerful energy wave shot out of its chest and the edges of the rip began to glow and close.

Once it was over they turned back to the battle to see it was nearly finished. A few Altean ships tried to run but there was nowhere for them to go. Shiro let go of his hold on Voltron and they broke apart into five Lions again and Hunk finally gasped in a desperate breath. Being alone in his mind was devastating and glorious, he wasn’t sure he could handle Shiro’s intensity again even though he already wanted it back.

 _“Good work everyone,”_ Shiro said calmly, like it was the first time, like any of this was normal. _“Clean up the stragglers, there’s something I need to take care of. Make sure to play nice with the Galra Empire, please don’t start any diplomatic incidents while I’m away.”_

He took the Black Lion to one of the Galra cruisers and docked in the hangar while Hunk watched through Yellow’s eyes, dumbfounded. The comms went dead.

 

***** Part VI: Shiro *****

 

Lotor was out cold, which was the only reason he wasn’t protesting being carried through the halls bridal style.

“Is he alright?” Dayak asked nervously as she walked beside Shiro.

“He’ll be fine, he just needs to rest,” Shiro said, careful not to disturb him.

“The Galra need a leader, Captain,” Dayak said. “This awkward truce cannot last, we need to solidify the position of the Empire and open negotiations with the Coalition as soon as possible.”

“I’m not dragging him through that right now,” Shiro said. “Once he’s awake, in a quintant or two, we can discuss-”

“That may already be too late,” Dayak hissed. “He has their loyalty- for now. His dramatic return and subsequent defeat of the Alteans has captured their hearts and reminded them why they followed him in the first place- _for now_.

“But there are already rumors flying, already some considering splintering off to return to raiding, unsanctioned conquering, whatever other unscrupulous behavior they’ve been engaged in while he was gone. He needs to make a public statement, declare his intent to rule and how he intends to handle the Coalition, the territory disputes, not to mention-”

“He needs to _rest_ ,” Shiro hissed back. They both froze as Lotor stirred, frowning and muttering something quietly.

“This way,” Dayak whispered, leading them to a lavish bedroom. It was decorated with Lotor’s colors and something about that made Shiro’s heart ache. Lotor hadn’t worn his colors since Shiro had found him in the ruins of Oriande nearly three decades ago. They’d moved on from this and now they were being dragged back. He had no idea how Lotor truly felt about any of it, what he wanted to do, if he even wanted to stay in this reality at all.

“You’re his- _consort_ , if I understand correctly,” Dayak said awkwardly as Shiro lowered Lotor to the bed. “Can you speak for him? Do you know what he’ll do?”

“I’m his husband,” Shiro said. “I don’t speak for him.”

“But surely you know-”

“Dayak,” Shiro cut her off. “I came here to you and not any of the others because I knew you wouldn’t hurt him. So please- let him rest. He desperately needs it.”

“We desperately need him,” Dayak said quietly. “I’ll try and keep his Empire together for him while he rests. I only hope he’ll be rested soon. Good night, Captain.”

“Good night,” Shiro said. He waited until she left to pull off Lotor’s boots and armor, leaving him in his flight suit. He didn’t wake for any of it, betraying how exhausted he must have been.

Shiro wanted to keep watch over him but he was dead on his feet himself. He’d forgotten how much piloting Black took out of him. He took off his armor before climbing into bed beside Lotor and pulling him into his arms. Lotor made a small pleased sound and curled in closer, gripping Shiro’s flight suit tightly.

That brought a smile to Shiro’s face as he ran his fingers through Lotor’s hair, over his hoktril scar. It was over, it was all finally over. At least until the next disaster came around. A faint meow prompted him to glance down to see Kova staring up at him expectantly.

“Come on up here,” Shiro whispered, “I need both of my stinky boys.”

Kova hissed in displeasure even as he came over and curled up on the pillow by their heads. Shiro could only smile as he drifted off to sleep. When he opened his eyes Lotor was peering up at him with confusion.

“Shiro?” he whispered.

“Hey,” Shiro said, raising his hand to push the messy strands of white hair out Lotor’s face.

“Where are we?”

“We’re safe, we’re on Dayak’s ship.”

“And the Alteans?”

“We took them out and closed the rip, it’s over.”

Lotor grinned and leaned forward to kiss him before sitting up with a groan.

“I’m starving, and-” he grimaced. “What is that _smell_?”

“Pretty sure that’s us,” Shiro laughed. “We haven’t bathed since four jumps ago, that makes-”

“Don’t even tell me,” Lotor interrupted, wrinkling his nose. “There must be a shower here somewhere.”

“You go ahead, I’ll see about some food.”

Lotor stood and walked off into an adjoining room while Shiro went to the main door, opening it before peering out into the hall. There were two Galra soldiers there and they jerked uncertainly before saluting.

“Vrepit Sa, Captain.”

“Vrepit Sa,” Shiro answered. “We’d like to get some food in here, could either of you see about making that happen?”

“Right away, Captain,” one of the guards said.

“Thank you,” Shiro said before returning to the rooms. He followed the sound of running water to a large bathroom and locked the door behind himself as he took in Lotor already naked and washing in the shower cubicle. He smiled as he undressed and climbed in with him, pressing up against his back and pushing his face into his sodden hair.

“Shiro, I love you but you smell awful,” Lotor complained. “Please feel free to make use of the soap.”

Shiro laughed breathlessly, his heart full of joy. He managed to keep his wandering hands to himself until he was clean, and then he pushed Lotor up against the wall of the shower and kissed him thoroughly while the water beat down on them. Eventually Lotor pushed him away with a laugh.

“I’m dying of hunger,” he said, pouting.

“You’re _dying_?” Shiro teased as he stepped away. “Well, we can’t have that, can we?”

They didn’t bother getting dressed, just wrapped themselves up with towels before leaving the bathroom. When they returned to the main room it was to see an impressive array of food laying out over the dining table. Lotor smiled as he walked closer, taking everything in.

“How did she… these are all my favorites. There are even Peritan Tarts- I thought the Peritan plant went extinct over two thousand years ago.”

“Well let’s dig in,” Shiro laughed as he sat. He filled his own plate as he watched Lotor fondly, exclaiming in delight with each nostalgic discovery. Some things he’d tried before in the other dimension, some were completely new, everything was delicious. Although with how hungry he was, he’d probably think food goo was delicious right now too.

Being clean and full felt like an absolute luxury after the past few years they’d had and Shiro found himself being drawn back towards sleep. Lotor didn’t seem to be doing much better, he was practically nodding off as he sat picking at a tart.

“Come on,” Shiro said at last, standing from the table and taking Lotor’s hand to lead him back to bed. But it looked like Lotor had more than sleep on his mind.

“Shiro,” Lotor whispered, pulling Shiro in for a kiss. “Shiro, I miss you.”

“I’m right here,” Shiro said, smiling.

“You know what I mean,” Lotor said. “I miss being with you, I want you. It’s all been so frantic but now we finally have a moment of peace and I want you.”

“Anything you want,” Shiro said with a smile.

“I want you to ride me.”

“So I get to do all the work, hmm?” Shiro asked as he pulled his towel away before doing the same for Lotor.

“I’m just so-” Lotor faked a yawn with a mischievous glint in his eye, “I’m just so tired. You don’t mind taking care of me, do you?”

“Oh, I’ll take care of you alright,” Shiro laughed before leaning down to kiss him, to run his hands down his body and stroke his already hard and leaking cock. He moved to straddle Lotor’s hips and reached back to swipe his fingers through the slick before pushing inside himself, getting himself ready.

It didn’t take long, and then he was moving to sink down on Lotor’s cock, moaning at the stretch and the fullness. Lotor moaned too, throwing his head back against the sheets as he took hold of Shiro’s hips. He was trembling but he stayed still and didn’t thrust as Shiro adjusted, took him inside.

“Oh fuck,” Shiro moaned. He’d missed this so badly, it had been so long- _months_ maybe. They’d been so wrapped up in chasing the Alteans, and one of them had to be awake at all times to keep watch, to keep the ship on course, that they hadn’t been able to just- be together. “Oh fuck, you feel so good.”

“Shiro- Shiro, _please_ -”

Shiro grinned and moved to brace his hands against Lotor’s shoulders, spreading his thighs wider as he started to move up and down, started to fuck himself on Lotor’s cock. It felt good to be in control, it felt right. Whenever he left it up to Lotor he was always too careful, too slow, but now that it was up to him he could take Lotor however he wanted and he wanted _everything_ , and _now._

He took a deep breath and forced his body to relax as he sank down all the way, taking the widest part of Lotor’s cock inside with a loud moan. Lotor moaned too, his hold tightening on Shiro’s hips, his claws pressing against Shiro’s skin.

Shiro paused, panting as he focused on the feeling of being so unbearably open and full, claimed and owned. And then a shivering pulse ran through him and all his muscles tightened, and Lotor felt so _huge_ inside him, and it was bliss, pure bliss-

He opened his eyes to see Lotor smirking up at him, his hands glowing blue and lightning running over his fingers.

“Really?” Shiro panted. “You’ve got all the power of Oriande in your hands and this is what you use it for?”

Lotor laughed and it was the most beautiful sound Shiro had ever heard. “I have the power of _three_ versions of Oriande in my hands, and I’ll use it as I like.”

The pulse came again and Shiro cried out, his hands tightening over Lotor’s shoulders and his back arching. Lotor ran his hands down Shiro’s thighs, trailing crackling blue lightning that made Shiro lose control and sob with how good it felt, and then he was running his fingers lightly over Shiro’s cock and it was too much- it felt like-

He wasn’t sure what it felt like, all he knew was that it was amazing and he was shivering and burning up and through it all Lotor’s cock was inside him, filling him up and opening him up and it was perfect and everything he’d ever wanted.

Lotor laughed underneath him and pushed his hips up, thrusting into him sharply, and he couldn’t take anymore, he couldn’t stop himself- he cried out and came, spilling over Lotor’s taut stomach as his thighs shook and threatened to give out, as he felt his entire body shivering and enveloped in heat and pleasure.

“Come here,” Lotor whispered and Shiro bent down over him with a sigh, closing his eyes as Lotor grabbed his ass firmly and started grinding into him, breathing harshly. “Kiss me,” Lotor demanded and Shiro forced himself up to take Lotor’s face in his hands and kissed him deeply, swallowing up all the desperate sounds Lotor was making until he finally turned his head away, his eyes screwed shut as he shivered through his own release.

Shiro finally pulled off his cock, frowning at the sudden emptiness, the cold, but Lotor was already there, moving closer to rest his head on Shiro’s chest.

He stroked Lotor’s hair thoughtfully as they lay together.

“What do you want to do now?” Shiro asked after a while, thinking about what Dayak had said. “Do you want to stay here? Or do you want to go home to delta five? We could return if we want, visit all the places we didn’t get to.”

“How would we even get back?” Lotor asked quietly.

“Easy- we’ll take the Black Lion home, and then we’ll go find the other Prince Lotor and I can beat him up so you can swoop in to save him.”

Lotor laughed unabashedly, his eyes crinkling endearingly at the corners. “Are you sure you can take him? He’s not a boy anymore, he’s in his thirties now. Maybe more, depending on the rate of time slippage between our realities.”

“Of course I can take him,” Shiro scoffed. “For you? Of course I can. Zarkon will be so grateful to you he’ll give us a whole new ship, a better ship even.”

“That won’t be suspicious at all.”

“You can disguise yourself so he’ll never know you’re the same man, maybe you could be… green this time.”

“Stop,” Lotor laughed. “You’re terrible.”

“I’m serious,” Shiro said. “Not about- well. You know. But about going back. We could if we wanted to. We could do anything at all.”

Lotor sighed and buried his face in Shiro’s chest. “We’ve had our fun, Shiro. Maybe it’s time to return. You saw what things are like here. This universe is on the verge of another massive war and your Paladins don’t even realize it. If we hadn’t returned now, in a few more deca-phoebs Gnov would have united whoever was left and launched another conquest.”

“So you want to stay, then. You want to stay and lead the Galra.”

“I can’t just run away, can I?”

“You could,” Shiro said, “but I know you won’t. Alright- we’ll stay.”

 

***** Part VII: Lance *****

 

“This is crazy,” Lance muttered as he stared out the window at Lotor’s delegation approaching the Parliament building. _Lotor_ \- how was he still alive? It was mind boggling that he’d be able to just- just- _show up_ after all this time and make demands. But here he was, walking with Shiro at his side and flanked by dozens of guards while his army waited in orbit around Daibazaal.

“Remember what Shiro said,” Keith said quietly.

“Yeah, _play nice_ ,” Lance bit out, turning away from the window. It was crazy, it was absolutely insane, and yet here was Lotor, walking into the council chambers and taking a seat at the head of the table while Shiro stood behind him, resting his arm casually on the back of his chair.

“I’d prefer not to waste any time, so let us skip the pleasantries,” Lotor said. “I’ve been in meetings with my war council for the past two quintants and my demands are clear. The Galra Empire claims the planet Daibazaal as its homeworld, Feyiv as its holy birthright and symbol of sovereignty, and all planets and territories we held prior to King Alfor’s destruction of our homeworld and Emperor Zarkon’s subsequent expansion.

“Coalition forces will withdraw immediately and there will be an end to all aggressions. There will be a universal pardon issued by both the Empire and the Coalition for all war crimes and subsequent retaliations, and finally- the Black Lion will stay with the Galra. Voltron will not be summoned again barring another dimension-ending event.”

Lance’s mouth dropped open in shock. It was so much- Lotor was demanding a return to the status quo, the full rebuilding of the Galra Empire.

“We cannot abide by these terms,” Kolivan said. “Perhaps we can issue a pardon, but-”

“This is not a negotiation,” Lotor said sharply. “I will get what I want, one way or another. The only choice you have now is how quickly and easily you’ll acquiesce.”

“The Galra Empire is _gone_ ,” Kolivan bit out. “Daibazaal is ruled by a democracy now-”

“Is it?” Lotor asked. “If the Galra Empire is gone, who exactly saved this reality from an Altean invasion force? If Daibazaal is ruled by a democracy, why is it that most of its government is made up of Blade of Marmora agents? Is that democracy? Because it looks like martial law to me.”

“How dare you? We were elected-” Krolia cried out.

“I didn’t come here to argue,” Lotor interrupted. “I’ve made my position clear. Will you give me what I want or must I take it by force?”

Lance crossed his arms over his chest as the room broke out into chaos. Lotor waited patiently for them to settle, but then ten minutes passed, and ten minutes more, and finally he sighed heavily, rising from his seat.

“My position is clear,” he said loudly, “but it seems as though you don’t understand yours. Let me be perfectly blunt- you have mishandled this war and the peace making effort at every turn. You have failed to wipe out Galra hostiles, and your effort to claim Daibazaal and turn it to democracy was a clumsy failure.

“Do you really think a militant space-faring race that has reigned supreme for ten thousand years will be content to live quietly and peacefully planetside, especially once they’ve been stripped of their sovereignty and told it was for their own good, given the scraps of a supposedly representative government while the threat of Coalition forces looms large in their atmosphere?

“It is only a matter of time before you have another vicious war on your hands, and I am the only one standing in its way. I want lasting peace between our factions, but ultimately I am the rightful Emperor of the Galra and my responsibility is to them.

“You’ve seen what I can do, you’ve seen the strength I have at my disposal. You cannot resist me if I choose to bring that strength against you. I have made my demands clear- you will meet them or be destroyed. You have one cycle to obey. This meeting is adjourned.”

He walked out of the room and Lance couldn’t stop staring, most of all he was shocked at the way Shiro just- followed him.

“Wait,” Lance said. “Wait- you can’t just _claim_ the Black Lion, you can’t just claim Shiro like that. He’s going to come home- come back to his team.”

Shiro and Lotor stopped and Shiro smiled a little as he looked back.

“Won’t you?” Lance asked, suddenly unsure.

“I am home,” Shiro said, putting his hand on Lotor’s lower back in an oddly intimate gesture. “The Black Lion stays with me, and I’m staying with Lotor. Do what he says, Lance. It may not seem like it right now but it’s what’s best for everyone.”

And then they were gone.

 

***** Part VIII: Lotor *****

 

“That was a little harsh,” Shiro said as they walked up the stairs into the Black Lion’s cockpit.

“It was honest,” Lotor said. “Why should I scrape and bow? Why should I pretend to be weak and accommodating? You know how long it took for the war council to agree to this deal, you were there. They want war, they want conquest and revenge. The offer I presented is the very least the Galra will settle for.”

Shiro sighed heavily as he sat in the pilot’s seat.

“Besides,” Lotor continued as he moved to stand behind Shiro and dropped a hand to his shoulder, “the sooner I take control the sooner I can establish a real Parliament, not whatever puppet show is happening here now.”

“Already tired of ruling?” Shiro asked with a laugh.

“Dreadfully,” Lotor said. “Do you know what ruling is, Shiro?” He held on tight as Shiro took them gently out of Daibazaal’s atmosphere.

“I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”

“It’s meetings. Meetings about war, about trade, about taxes. Meetings about meetings, meetings about paperwork. Oh and the _paperwork_.” He winced just thinking about it. “Everything is such a terrible mess. At least if I still had Quartermaster Janka he could shoulder the burden of the supply routes, the finances, the minutiae of keeping an Empire running. But he’s dead in some ditch on Feyiv thanks to Sendak.”

“But look on the bright side,” Shiro said. “Maybe they’ll build a big statue of you.”

Lotor smirked and looked away. “They never get my hair right in statues. I may have to build it myself.” He was going to build so many things, he was going to turn Daibazaal into a monument to peace, to science, to trade. Maybe the first thing he’d build would be a new ship for him and Shiro. He could already picture it, beautiful and glorious, a mix of Altean and Galra technology and every best part of all the other cultures they’d seen and explored.

“Incoming transmission from Dayak,” Shiro said and Lotor was brought back to the present.

 _“Emperor Lotor,”_ she said, sounding as stern and disgruntled as usual, _“your wayward Generals have arrived as per your summons. What shall I do with them?”_

“Make them comfortable,” Lotor said, “but not too comfortable. I’ll deal with them when I return.”

_“Return? It was my understanding you were returning now!”_

“Shiro and I are going on a little trip but we’ll be back soon.”

_“Soon? What does that mean? You can’t just run off now, in the middle of-”_

“Commander Dayak,” Lotor interrupted, “I have full confidence that you can handle things in my absence. I anticipate the Coalition will need a few quintants to discuss my ultimatum, so in the meantime please try to avoid starting another war.”

 _“Prince Lotor!”_ she exclaimed, using the exact same tone she’d used to scold him when he was a boy, too flustered at the moment to remember his current title.

“Thank you, Dayak,” Lotor said firmly and motioned for Shiro to cut off the transmission.

“You’re going to give her a heart attack,” Shiro said.

“I haven’t yet,” Lotor answered with a grin, “and I used to be quite the trouble maker.”

“Seems to me you still are. Are you ready? Do you know where we’re going?”

“Just a moment,” Lotor said. He picked Kova up and held him to his chest, closing his eyes. It took him a dobosh or two, he wasn’t well practiced in this sort of magic, but then he was opening his eyes and he could see the flow of quintessence around them, the beautiful lines of power running through the Lion and even Shiro before him. It was all almost too bright, hiding what he was really looking for, but he focused on Kova in his hands, purring quietly, and finally he saw it- a thin glittering strand leading off into the distance, the soul bond that connected Kova and Narti.

He grasped the strand carefully, it was so delicate and weak, and pressed his fingers gently to Shiro’s temples, showing him.

“There,” he said quietly. “Do you see it?”

“I see it,” Shiro said. “Here we go- hold on tight.”

Lotor closed his eyes and wrapped one arm around Shiro’s shoulders, cradling Kova safe and close with the other. “Let’s go.”

Shiro hit the throttle and then he engaged the Black Lion’s wings and the stars blurred around them. Lotor’s heart was thrumming so hard with a sickly mix of hope and dread that he could barely breathe.

This was it- what he’d risked himself for, why he’d listened to the Empress’s promises despite all of Shiro’s warnings. And she had kept her word, she’d taught him the ways of Altean Alchemy, for a while at least, until she’d gotten tired of having a pupil and decided she’d prefer a pet instead. But before then- she’d taken him to her dimension’s Oriande, and she’d taught him to see the strings of fate that connected all souls, all beings. She’d taught him to heal too, in her own twisted way, and if he could just do this, this one thing, if he could bring Narti back-

He swallowed hard, overwhelmed just thinking about it. Narti had been with him the longest, had been his most beloved and loyal General. That was why Haggar had chosen her and not any of the others, that was why she’d been taken and used against him. Because she loved him, and he loved her. If he could bring her back- if he could save _his_ Narti, it would make what he’d put himself through, what he’d put _Shiro_ through, worth it at last.

“Almost there,” Shiro said as the Lion started to slow, and then they were drifting in a deca-phoebs old ship graveyard with Zarkon’s ruined Command Ship in the midst of it, surrounded by dozens of dark Galra cruisers and clouds of miscellaneous debris. Lotor’s heart grew cold with fear. Would the soul bond still be visible if Narti was dead? Would it still shine like this even if it was too late?

But the strand was brighter now, not so stretched, and Lotor could feel it fluttering almost like a faint heartbeat.

“She’s on the Command Ship,” he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. “Haggar did most of her work there, she perfected her cloning process there too.” He tried to make it sound like more than just a desperate hunch, to convince himself as much as Shiro. He’d had his suspicions ever since Shiro had told him about his clone back on the Atlas but of course he couldn’t be sure then, he wasn’t sure even now. They’d probably scoured the remains of his cruiser after it was destroyed, they could have found her, dragged her dead body here for Haggar’s dark experiments. It was possible that was all Lotor would ever find.

“I’m taking us in. Do you know where?”

“No,” Lotor said quietly, afraid to admit it.

“We’ll just have to go in and look around then,” Shiro said, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

Lotor took a deep breath and kissed Kova on the top of the head before setting him back down as the cat bared his teeth in displeasure. He knew something was happening and didn’t want to be left behind, but they couldn’t take him into the depressurised ship.

“You have to stay here, Koko,” Lotor said to him before putting on his helmet while Shiro did the same.

Lotor led the way out of the Black Lion with Shiro at his back. He felt cold and afraid, he felt like they were entering a haunted place full of the ghosts of his past. In essence that was exactly what they were doing.

He focused on the soul bond and tried not to let the past take him.

The shining strand was not constrained by things like corridors and hallways and sometimes Lotor lost sight of it for long doboshes as they tried to find their way around through the darkness, the crushed hallways blocked by naked conduits, now dead and jagged. But he’d designed this ship, overseen its construction. Even with all the changes Zarkon and Haggar must have made, no one knew this ship as well as he did, and he knew that slowly they were getting closer.

Without artificial gravity, without power for the emergency lights, without markers on the hallways- it was nearly impossible to tell up from down. They floated through a hole in a bulkhead into a larger chamber full of broken equipment and debris and nailed down lab tables. Empty tanks lined the edges of the room and broken glass floated through the air, and Shiro froze with a sharp inhale.

Lotor turned to him, taking him by the shoulders.

“What is it?” he asked in alarm. “What’s wrong?”

“Sorry,” Shiro breathed out. “It’s just- this place seems- familiar.”

“Maybe you should go back,” Lotor said even as his heart sank at the thought of being alone here. “I can finish this on my own.”

“No,” Shiro said firmly. “I’m not leaving you, let’s keep going.”

“We’re close, I think,” Lotor said, and when he moved back he couldn’t bear to let Shiro go so he took him by the hand. He could feel quintessence storage somewhere close, almost depleted but still there. “It’s getting stronger, I think she’s just through there.”

There was a door, small and nondescript, and the glowing strand went right through it, stronger than ever before.

“Shiro, could you-?”

“Hold on,” Shiro said as he braced himself against the doorframe and activated his right arm to force the door open.

Lotor’s eyes widened as he floated in. There were seven pods arranged around the room, some of them shattered while a few still glowed faintly. He followed the strand, his heart beating frantically as he moved through the room, dizzy and lost. He pressed his hands to the glass as he stared.

“It’s her,” he managed.

She looked awful- haggard and thin like she’d just been slowly wasting away. But she was alive, he could sense that without even trying. It was her- it was really her. Haggar had- had- _stolen_ her somehow, cloned her and sent her replacement to him. How could he have missed it? How could he have been such a fool, let this happen to her, how had he not seen it? She’d been here all this time, alone and trapped, suffering, and he hadn’t realized, he’d missed it like an absolute halfwit. It was unforgivable and horrible and made him sick with guilt-

“Lotor,” Shiro said, wrapping his arms around Lotor’s shoulders and that was when he realized he was shaking.

“ _Shiro_ ,” he gasped and wished he could feel Shiro’s warmth against him.

“Lotor, it’s going to be alright. You did it- you found her. We need to get back now. You need to get it together, you know what you need to do.”

“Yes,” he forced out. “Yes, I know. I can- I can do it.”

He pressed his hands to the glass and closed his eyes, searching for her, her heartbeat and essence. It was so faint, she was so close to being gone, he’d nearly been too late.

“You’re not too late,” Shiro whispered and Lotor nodded with his eyes screwed shut tightly.

He pushed his power into her slowly, bringing her back from the brink of death, healing her as much as he could right now, giving her everything he had to spare. When he finished he opened his eyes to see she seemed better, not so shriveled and pale. Shiro was already moving, disconnecting the pod from its casing so they could take it out of here, take her home.

“What about the others?” Lotor asked, looking around. There were at least two more functioning pods, he couldn’t just _leave_ them-

“No,” Shiro said firmly. “They’re- they’re gone. They didn’t- they didn’t make it. Don’t look.”

“I have to-”

“Lotor, _please_ ,” Shiro said desperately. “Please don’t. You don’t want to see. They’re gone.”

Lotor closed his eyes with a shuddering sigh. Shiro wouldn’t lie to him.

Getting Narti back to the Lion was a blur, and then Kova was there in the hangar with them, jumping up to pace on her pod, meowing desperately.

“Yes, Kova,” Lotor said shakily. “Yes, I found her. We’re going to be together now, it’s going to be alright.”

“I’m going to take us back now,” Shiro said gently, squeezing his shoulder. “Why don’t you both stay here with her? I’ll let you know when we land.”

Lotor dragged his eyes away from Narti before him and pulled his helmet off before yanking off Shiro’s too and pressing closer to kiss him. Shiro’s hands came up to card through his hair and he shuddered, moving back to press his face against Shiro’s neck.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You don’t have to do anything without me anymore,” Shiro said and held him tighter.

 

***** Part IX: Zethrid *****

 

“I can’t take this anymore,” Zethrid said, jerking to her feet to pace the small bedroom. “How much longer must we wait for our executions? It’s been over a cycle!”

“Do you really think he’ll execute us?” Ezor asked in a small voice.

“Who knows what he’ll do,” Acxa muttered.

“We shouldn’t have come back,” Zethrid said, pausing to look at Ezor where she still sat on the bed with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. “When he called we should have just _run_.”

“He would have hunted us down,” Acxa said. “You’ve seen him- who knows what he can do now.”

“He’s with Captain Shirogane and he didn’t kill him- maybe he’ll have mercy. That was his whole thing before, wasn’t it? Mercy?” Ezor asked.

“Maybe we could still run,” Zethrid said. “Maybe we can escape his rage if we just- _run_ and don’t look back.”

“He loved us once,” Ezor said. “Maybe he hasn’t forgotten.”

“He loved Narti too and he killed her without a second thought!” Zethrid yelled, only to regret it when Ezor flinched. “I’m sorry,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “I’m sorry, Ezor. I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine,” Ezor said, looking down. “I know you’re scared. We’re all scared. But he- he-” she sighed. “He believed in us when no one else did, he took us in. He took us back after we betrayed him.”

“And then we betrayed him again,” Acxa said quietly. “How much forgiveness does he have in his heart? I don’t know if I’d forgive us for that.”

They all looked down then, lost in their own thoughts. Which was when the door opened.

They all drew back to see Lotor standing in the doorway, unaccompanied by his Captain or Kova for once. He stepped inside without waiting to be invited, and of course he didn’t need to- this was his ship.

“Lotor,” Acxa said nervously as she and Ezor stood to face him.

He didn’t say anything as the door slid shut behind him. He didn’t seem angry, just- blank. That didn’t bode well. He wasn’t dressed in his usual armor, instead he was wearing the colors of the Empire, black and purple.

He still hadn’t _said_ anything and Zethrid couldn’t help breaking out in a cold sweat. She towered over him but suddenly she felt so small under his gaze.

“You did well during the battle,” Lotor said at last. “You managed not to betray or abandon me, accidentally or otherwise. Good work, my wayward Generals.”

Zethrid flinched even as Ezor stepped towards her, taking her hand. She was sweating too.

“Are you going to execute us?” Acxa asked.

He tilted his head to the side as though he were considering it. But he wouldn’t have come here if he didn’t already know what he was going to do to them.

“Do you think you deserve it?” he asked coldly.

“You killed Narti right in front of us!” Acxa snarled.

“Acxa-” Zethrid said nervously, but there was no holding her back.

“What were we supposed to think? If you could turn on her, you could turn on any of us!”

“How _dare_ you,” Lotor hissed, his eyes growing dark with rage. “Have you ever known me to kill for no reason? Did you really think I did it on a whim? I thought you all knew me better than that- I trusted you all to know me better than that. It _gutted_ me to have to do that. Even now, I-”

He stopped, breathing hard.

“Lotor,” Ezor said carefully.

“ _No_ ,” he said. “I’m finished speaking with you. Kneel.”

Zethrid felt a cold tingle of terror running down her spine and taking her over. “Lotor, _please_ ,” she tried desperately.

“You said you were loyal! If you’re loyal you will kneel before your Emperor!”

She shut her eyes and did as he said, shaking. Ezor was next to her and Zethrid pulled her into her arms. There was no escaping this now, but at least they could die together.

Lotor stepped forward and she forced herself not to flinch. They should have run. They should have-

She pulled Ezor close and screwed her eyes shut as she felt Lotor’s hand descend on her left ear, his palm pressing to her cheek. She could see a faint blue glow through her closed eyelids and she expected to feel pain but none came. Instead she was enveloped in warmth and something that felt like love tinged with sorrow and her body was tingling, electricity running over her skin. She couldn’t breathe- she gasped and held Ezor tighter, waiting for- for- _something_. But that strange energy just continued to course through her.

When it ended she looked up and everything seemed odd. It took her a few ticks to realize it was because she could see through _both_ eyes. Ezor was still alive and shaking in her arms and she looked up just in time to see Lotor pulling his hands away from them both.

“Zethrid,” Ezor breathed out in awe, raising her hand to brush her fingers over Zethrid’s burned skin. Except- except she could feel the warmth of Ezor’s fingertips, the feeling of short hairs bristling at her touch. She hadn’t been able to feel anything but faint pressure there for so long, not with the nerve damage, and on a hunch she reached out to push Zethrid’s eyepatch back, only to be greeted by a healthy eye instead of an empty eye socket.

“Ezor?” she asked in confusion.

“The Empire has issued a pardon,” Lotor said and Zethrid looked up at him in shock. His hands were still glowing blue, slowly fading. “Don’t mistake it for my personal forgiveness.”

He glared at Axca for a moment before turning his gaze back to Zethrid. “Your prosthetics are a disgrace,” he said. “I cannot abide shoddy workmanship. I will not have my subjects parading about in such a state- you’ll report to the medbay immediately for replacements.”

He turned on his heel and left and all three of them sagged in relief.

“I’m even more confused than before now,” Ezor said with a weak smile, still touching Zethrid’s cheek reverently.

“We’d better do as he says,” Axca said, standing.

The three of them made their way to the medbay and Zethrid froze as she saw- it couldn’t be.

One of the beds was occupied, and Kova was there, and it looked like-

“Narti?” Acxa asked.

Narti turned her head towards them and smiled, raising her hand to beckon them closer.

“It can’t be,” Zethrid said even as Ezor laughed and barreled her way over, hugging Narti in her hospital bed. “How-?”

But Acxa was taking her hand and dragging her closer and the three of them were standing around Narti’s bedside, touching her in disbelief as Kova hissed in displeasure.

“ _How_?” Zethrid demanded, holding Narti’s hand.

She smiled up at them and pushed a simple message into their minds-

_Lotor._

 

***** Part X: Shiro *****

 

Shiro wasn’t sure what had woken him. He felt odd. He was tired, more tired than he should be. It seemed like a small thing, but they’d been through so many small things that turned into not so small things that Shiro turned to Lotor lying beside him.

“Lotor?” he whispered, taking him by the shoulder.

But Lotor didn’t wake, and that was- that was bad.

“Lotor!” Shiro said, louder, shaking Lotor’s shoulder even as he still didn’t wake and Shiro was suddenly engulfed in fear. He pressed his fingers to Lotor’s throat and was relieved to feel a slow pulse, except- what the hell was happening?

He stumbled into his armor, that was the only thing he could do at the moment, and then he heard footsteps out in the hallway and drew back against the wall.

The door opened, letting in three Galra soldiers in armored space suits. They were wearing their helmets too, despite being on the pressurized ship.

“There he is,” one of them hissed.

“Do it,” the other said.

Shiro had heard enough to understand what was going on. He activated his arm and came at them out of the darkness.

They weren’t ready for him and they didn’t put up much of a fight. He ripped through them and left their corpses on the ground as he went to shove Lotor’s unresponding body into his armor. He pulled Lotor’s hair back before putting on his helmet and hoped that whatever toxin or drug the invaders had pumped into the ship would wear off soon.

He considered giving Lotor a stim shot but it was too risky, he had no idea how the stimulants would react to whatever chemical attack was happening here. For a moment he was lost, frozen, but then he forced himself to move, slinging Lotor’s unconscious body over his shoulder.

This was some kind of assassination attempt, or maybe even a coup, and the only thing he knew for certain was that he had to get Lotor to safety, to the Black Lion.

Shiro was on the verge of panic but he forced himself to still, forced himself to think about what Lotor would do, what he would want. Instead of making a beeline for the hangar he went to the medbay, striding into the room to see Ezor shaking Zethrid frantically, pleading with her unresponsive body.

She jerked up when Shiro entered and lowered Lotor to an unused hospital bed. Axca and Narti also seemed to be out, even Kova was sleeping curled up by Narti’s hip. Maybe it was some kind of drug that worked to target Galra biology specifically, and Shiro and Ezor were simply too alien for it to affect them fully.

“What’s happening?” Ezor asked fearfully.

“I don’t know,” Shiro said, “some sort of attack. I think they gassed the ship, are there oxygen masks here? Anything like that?”

“I- I-” Ezor stuttered out, staring at Zethrid’s face.

“ _Focus_ ,” Shiro hissed.

Ezor flinched and looked up at him, wide-eyed.

“Captain Shirogane-”

“I need you to focus,” Shiro said forcefully even as he tried to let some gentleness enter his tone. “Ezor- do you know-”

“Yes,” she said, determination stealing into her eyes. “Yes, I- I think it’s here.” She ripped herself away from Zethrid and went to rummage through some cabinets as Shiro turned his attention back to Lotor. He was frowning a little, almost like he was about to wake.

“Lotor?” Shiro whispered, gripping him tightly by the shoulders. “Lotor, I need you to wake up.”

Ezor had found oxygen masks and put them on the three unresponsive women before she put on her own helmet.

Lotor groaned quietly, frowning, and Shiro felt faint with relief. Lotor opened his eyes slowly at last. “Shiro?” he whispered in confusion.

“Yes, I’m here,” he said, squeezing his shoulders.

“Why am I sleeping in my armor?” Lotor asked. “We- we finished it, didn’t we? We-”

“Yes,” Shiro said reassuringly. “We finished it. You’re not sleeping in your armor, I put it on you later. I think someone’s trying to assassinate you.”

“Gnov, I suspect,” Lotor said with a wince as he fought to sit up.

Shiro helped him and leaned their foreheads together until their helmets touched with a soft tap.

“They didn’t know I’d be there with you,” Shiro whispered. “If I hadn’t been-”

“But you were,” Lotor said. “You were, and I’m alright.”

“Oh,” Ezor said in surprise and they sprang apart sheepishly to stare at her. Shiro felt like he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t have been and he fought to hold back a blush. “You’re- you’re-” she stuttered, blushing as she pointed at them almost helplessly.

“We’re married, Ezor,” Lotor said. “Don’t tell anyone, I think after this incident we can all understand why.”

Ezor nodded and mimed zipping her mouth shut. “Uh, Zethrid and I are married too,” she said immediately after she finished. “Um, two phoebs ago. Zethrid married us herself, she’s a captain, so- and. And Acxa was there too, and-”

“Ezor,” Lotor interrupted firmly. “Let’s chat once no one’s trying to kill me.”

“Right,” Ezor said with a wince. “Right, except- except that whole kneeling thing was- you were just fucking with us. Right? Right, Lotor? You forgive us, don’t you? You forgive me?”

“Ezor,” Lotor said quietly.

“We should get to the Black Lion,” Shiro said, smiling a little despite himself.

“I don’t think so,” Lotor said. “We need to get to the bridge, I need to send out a message to my troops. Once they see that their attempt has failed the perpetrator may reveal themselves. Besides, clearly there is disorder in the ranks and I need to take control before everything falls apart.”

“Are you sure you should do that _now_?” Shiro asked.

“Yes,” Lotor said.

“Wait,” Ezor said, “what about us? Should, uh- should _we_ get to the Black Lion?”

“No,” Lotor said after a moment’s thought. “You should be perfectly safe here, I don’t think they’re coming for you. But just in case- Shiro, do you still have the stim shots?”

“Yeah,” Shiro said, fumbling for the canister in his pocket.

“Give one to Zethrid, Acxa should wake on her own soon enough and Narti’s biology would likely reject the stimulants.”

“Yeah,” Shiro said before walking over to inject Zethrid. She sat up with a gasp, floundering wildly with her eyes wide in shock. Ezor was there to comfort her and slowly she calmed, only to jerk back again when she saw Lotor looking at her.

“Stay here,” Lotor said. “Keep the others safe.”

Ezor nodded even as Zethrid shrank back from him, and then he was standing and Shiro moved to his side, steadying him with a hand to his lower back.

“Which way to the bridge?” Shiro asked quietly.

Lotor tilted his head and Shiro followed at his side, listening for any sign of other attackers. They passed members of Dayak’s crew here and there, slumped down on the floor as they slept, but they seemed unharmed. It looked like the attackers really had only come for Lotor. Had there only been three of them, the three Shiro had killed? Or were there more lurking somewhere on the ship?

They didn’t meet anyone else and soon they were on the bridge and Shiro was following Lotor over to the communications console. There was a giant Galra officer passed out in the seat and it took both of them to drag him out of his chair.

Shiro went to stand by the door, keeping an eye out for any threats, while Lotor opened a transmission frequency.

“It appears that some of you have forgotten your honor,” Lotor said with no preamble. “So let me remind you- the throne is won through honorable combat, not an assassin’s dagger in the night. Any who wish to challenge my rule may do so in one quintant at the Kral Zera. Afterwards I will treat any insubordination or disloyalty the way my father would have- with a swift execution.

“One quintant,” Lotor repeated and ended the message.

Shiro scowled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re an asshole, do you know that? It’s like you’re _trying_ to get yourself killed. You couldn’t have given me a heads up that you were announcing another Kral Zera?”

“I’m not trying to get myself killed,” Lotor said, standing and turning towards him. “Besides, I can defeat Gnov and anyone else who has the courage to face me.”

“Fine,” Shiro said with a sigh. What was the point of arguing? Lotor was just going to do whatever he thought he had to anyway, like always. “But I’m warning you- the second it looks like you’re about to get hurt I am coming in there and dragging you home, Galra Empire and Coalition and this whole shitty reality be damned.”

Lotor laughed, far more chipper than he had any right to be after narrowly surviving an assassination attempt.

“I know you don’t mean that,” he said with a wink before going over to a different console and doing something at the controls. Shiro heard a faint hiss as the ventilation system activated, presumably venting whatever poison was filling the ship.

“Don’t try me,” Shiro said.

“Do I ever?” Lotor asked with a laugh.

“Every damn day,” Shiro said, smiling now too.

 

***** Part XI: Kolivan *****

 

It was all Kolivan could do to hold back a sigh as the pompous thief stood to speak again.

“We should strike now- hard and fast before he can see us coming,” Rolo said, slapping his fist into his palm.

Kolivan wrinkled his nose at the childish theatrics. This Coalition meeting was already turning into a disaster and it had only started ten doboshes ago.

“Hold on,” Keith said. “We already agreed to his terms, we pulled back our troops-”

“Exactly,” Rolo said. “He thinks he’s won, so he won’t be expecting an attack. And pulling back our ships has allowed us to hide our mobilization, we can go in as a single force-”

“This is madness,” Telgins, the Unilu representative said. “More war? We’re only just managing to re-establish trade.”

“What’s _madness_ is allowing the Galra Empire to exist with fucking _Lotor_ at the head of it!” Lance exclaimed. “Do you think he’s just going to sit around and- and- _play nice_? He said it himself! He said the Galra are militant, they won’t be _content to live quietly and peacefully planetside._ How long will he wait before he starts expanding again? We need to get rid of him once and for all!”

“If we even could,” Pidge muttered. She shrugged and spread her hands wide when Lance turned to glare at her. “What? I’m just saying what we’re all thinking! His army is way bigger than ours. Can we even take him?”

“He doesn’t have an army,” Kolivan growled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Sure looked like an army to me,” Hunk said sadly.

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Kolivan said. “He has a loose assortment of disgruntled Commanders turned raiders, a few stray Altean mechas, a handful of various criminals and other… undesirables. Some, admittedly, used to be soldiers, but have since become minor tyrants of their own personal kingdoms.

“Do you really think they’ll be happy to submit to his rule? He’s a halfbreed who allowed the Empire to fracture during the first phoeb of his reign and then disappeared for seven deca-phoebs. They obeyed him in the battle against the Alteans, and they’ve obeyed him for the past two cycles, but mark my words- there is disorder brewing in his ranks even as we speak.”

“See?” Lance said with a victorious grin. “Kolivan thinks we can take him.”

“No, I do not,” Kolivan said.

“Why the hell not?” Rolo demanded.

“If we give them an external enemy they will rally behind him in the hopes that he’ll bring them to victory again,” Kolivan explained with annoyance. It was obvious, wasn’t it? “If we stay out of their way they’ll fracture and tear him down themselves. Afterwards we can go in and clean up the mess one rebel fleet at a time.”

“We can start embedding operatives within his forces in the meantime,” Krolia said slowly. “Instead of a head-on conflict we could do what the Blades are best at. We could... give him a push.”

“That would take too long!” Rolo exclaimed.

“Why are you all in such a hurry to die?” Telgins the Unilu cried out, waving all four of his arms in the air desperately.

“Um, excuse me,” a young woman spoke up timidly. Kolivan squinted at her, trying to remember her name. Leilani? Leilithi? She had a diminutive stature and yellow-pink skin.

“One strike and it could all be over,” Lance said heatedly.

“Would you listen to yourself?” Keith argued, glaring at him. “I think you’re all forgetting one important thing.”

“What’s that?” Lance scoffed.

“Shiro!” Keith yelled. “Shiro is with him, alright! He- they- I don’t know. But- Shiro trusts him. Doesn’t that count for anything?”

“Excuse me-” the young woman said again. Her name was definitely Leilani, from the planet Straks.

“He could be possessed!” Lance said. “Just like Honerva possessed those Alteans, Lotor could have-”

“He’s not possessed,” Keith hissed. “You felt him- we all felt him when we formed Voltron. He’s _Shiro._ I’m not going up against him, I’m just not.”

“You’d let Lotor burn the Universe down just because you don’t want to fight your precious Shiro?” Rolo asked with a scowl.

There was a sound like a foghorn and the very air seemed to shake. Everyone fell silent in shock as they stared at Leilani, standing now with her hands on the table and her chest heaving. “Excuse me,” she said sheepishly, her cheeks flushed bright red. “Apologies, but- if you would just let me _speak_ -”

“Please,” Kolivan said with a nod.

“Apologies, but- what you are suggesting is horrific… The Coalition issued a pardon, we signed a peace treaty. Furthermore- the people of Straks will not be involved in another war. I came here today to see if there was any chance of us continuing to work with you, but I see now…”

She took a deep breath and raised her hands to her chest where she clutched them nervously over her heart. “The people of Straks are leaving the Coalition. We are… we intend to… we intend to petition to join the Galra Empire.”

“ _What?!_ ” Lance and Rolo yelled in unison.

Leilani flinched back helplessly, and then tightened her lips and stood a little straighter. Kolivan’s mind was racing, recalculating. Planet Straks was the breadbasket of Sector X2-L, at least six Coalition fleets regularly resupplied there. If that was no longer an option the next nearest port was at least three sectors out. They’d have to reconsider their patrol routes, their supply routes-

“You can’t be serious,” Pidge said flatly.

“I am… we are quite serious. Since taking power he has made no move to deport non-Galra out of his territory, so- so we believe he may welcome us. And… and furthermore- we have prospered greatly under his protection for the past three thousand years.”

“Protection?” Kolivan asked incredulously. “You mean you were under Galra occupation.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “We ruled ourselves, we kept our sovereignty. He kept us safe from the Galra, from bandits, from plague and famine. In return he demanded regular tribute, that much is true. But what he asked for was far more modest than your- your- _taxes._

“The only reason Straks joined your Coalition in the first place was to escape the problems you yourselves caused. We had no choice, but now we do and we choose Prince Lotor. Um- _Emperor_ Lotor. And- and- you should know that Straks is not alone.”

“What are you talking about?” Krolia asked.

“There are others- those who have known Prince- _Emperor_ Lotor first hand, who have known his leadership. They were too afraid to come here and tell you themselves, they feared- they feared you may execute them for their disobedience. So it fell to me. But- I am not alone.”

“Who else is joining him?” Kolivan asked quietly. This could change everything.

“The Xunqron,” Leilani said. Their planet had large ore deposits and a major orbital repair station but the loss of their resources would not be a significant blow.

“The Dihirie,” she continued, and that was a larger problem. They fielded one of the largest fleets in the Coalition.

Worse- she kept talking, naming at least a dozen more planets and territories. By the time she was finished Kolivan was reeling- they’d just lost over a third of their troops and resources.

Leilani stopped at last, pausing before she bowed shallowly to all the people sitting before her. “The people of Straks hope… we sincerely hope not to face retaliation from the Coalition. Thank you for your time.”

She bowed again and backed out of the room nervously, her eyes darting between all of them as if she expected them to attack her right then and there. As she got closer to the door she turned at last and practically ran outside.

“Wait,” Lance said slowly. “ _What?_ ”

“Huh,” Hunk said.

 

***** Part XII: Lotor *****

 

He couldn’t help his nerves rising as he stood at the top of the Kral Zera, looking down at his subjects gathered below. Doing something like this was not entirely unprecedented but it was still highly unusual. Lotor wondered if putting on this show would do him more harm than good, and then he forced himself to take a deep breath and set his doubts aside.

Whoever was behind the assassination attempt had to die, soon. But although he was nearly certain it had been Gnov, there was no proof and he couldn’t simply go around executing his Commanders. If for no other reason than lashing out blindly would make him seem erratic and weak, it would only embolden others to come after him.

“You wish to challenge me?” he called out to the warriors standing below. “Then come up here and claim your crown.”

There were a few doboshes of nothing but awkward shuffling and muttering in the crowd, and then, finally, Gnov stepped forward.

As he waited for her to ascend the steps Lotor drew his sword, giving it a few experimental twirls. He caught Shiro’s eye, standing at the base of the pyramid, and gave him a quick smile before focusing all his attention on Gnov before him.

“You are not fit to rule,” she declared for all to hear.

“I suppose we shall see about that,” he answered with a smirk.

She lunged first, striking with a yell, but he ducked under her blade easily. She was bigger than him, stronger than him, but he was used to that. He excelled against opponents with larger stature, opponents who thought less of him because he wasn’t like them.

Gnov kept coming mercilessly but he stayed out of her reach, making a show of fighting back when he was in fact conserving his energy. He needed to wear her down without making it obvious what he was doing; the Galra favored brute strength and would not appreciate what they’d interpret as trickery. He needed to win this fight the Galra way to put all their doubts to rest.

If it were only up to him he’d let her tire herself out for a while more, but he couldn’t draw it out much longer, he needed a decisive victory. He gritted his teeth against her next blow, sliding back a little with the force of it, and then he gathered himself and went on the offensive.

His advantage was his speed and stamina, but he had enough brute strength to win this fight if he managed to end it quickly. She was surprised at the sudden power behind his strikes and he beat her back before ducking under her guard and punching her in the solar plexus hard enough to leave her gasping for breath. He finished the move by sweeping her legs out from under her and she fell to her back with her eyes wide with shock.

Lotor stepped forward to put his foot on her chestplate, raising his blade to her throat. She closed her eyes in resignation, letting her head fall back against the ground, but instead of striking her down he smirked and stepped away before turning his back to her.

“Mercy has never been the way of the Galra, but we are entering a new age,” he announced, looking directly at Shiro. “We are leaving war behind and moving towards peace and prosperity. My father’s ceaseless expansion only brought destruction, to us as well as to our enemies, and now we must rise from the ashes of his failure. We must build something glorious and true that will draw allies towards us, and we will welcome them with open arms.”

Shiro’s eyes widened in alarm and that was how Lotor knew to dive out of the way, narrowly avoiding Gnov’s dagger. He rose to face her as she stood, breathing hard and glaring at him.

“No,” she snarled. “No- Emperor Zarkon brought us to glory through conquest, he made us a force to be reckoned with. I’ll die before I let a treacherous halfbreed destroy his legacy!”

“Then you will die,” Lotor said, calling up purple lightning that rippled over his fingers. She shrank back from him in fear but she had nowhere to go. “You forfeited your right to honorable combat when you attacked me while my back was turned.”

He raised his hands and the lightning engulfed both of them as Gnov fell to her knees with an agonized scream. He could feel her pain as well as his own but he gritted his teeth against it and pushed harder. If they needed to fear him before they would follow him, then fine. He would make them fear him.

Nausea rose within him, at the pain, the smell of burnt flesh, at Gnov’s screaming and the shocked whispers from the crowd. He tightened his hands into fists and felt Gnov’s heart burst, felt her death like a sword piercing through him. He let the lightning go and took a step back, breathing hard as he stared at what he’d done.

There was absolute silence as he turned to face the crowd. He felt dizzy and faint but he couldn’t let it show.

“Would anyone else care to challenge me for the throne?” he called out even as he desperately hoped no one would step up. He didn’t have it in him to win another duel, not after that. Thankfully there was only silence, and slowly the Galra started to kneel. He looked for Shiro in the crowd again, gaining strength from his solemn nod, and then Shiro was kneeling too.

Lotor took a deep breath, the tension seeping out of his muscles at last. He was on the verge of collapse as walked down the stairs, forcing himself not to run from Gnov’s still smoking corpse laying on the platform behind him.

There was some kind of commotion at the back of the crowd and he paused, squinting to try and make out what was going on.

A delegation of a dozen or so aliens were approaching fearfully as the Galra drew back to let them pass, not quite sure what to do about this strange development. Lotor vaguely recognized a few of them as they got closer.

“You wish to challenge me?” he asked in confusion when they paused at the bottom of the stairs. It was ridiculous, but why else would anyone arrive to a Kral Zera?

“No!” one of the aliens said nervously, a young woman with yellow-pink skin. Lotor thought she might be familiar, but he couldn’t quite place her. “No, we- perhaps we are not as well versed in Galra customs as we should be, but- but we were under the impression that a- a Kral Zera was an… appropriate time to… pledge our allegiance?”

Lotor continued down the stairs slowly. He looked past the aliens to see Shiro rise to his feet, his movement like an unspoken signal for everyone else to rise as well.

“It isn’t,” Lotor said with a small smile, “but I suppose it could be. You’ve come here to pledge allegiance? To me?”

The young woman knelt, her companions joining her. “Yes, Emperor Lotor. I am Representative Lailani-”

“From Straks,” he finished for her, smiling wider now.

“You remember,” Lailani said in surprise.

“Of course,” he said. Straks was the first planet he’d ‘conquered’ during his exile. He slowly realized the other aliens were representatives from some of the others.

“Emperor Lotor, you have- you have… you have done right by us, in the time that we’ve- that you’ve-” Lailani cut herself off to lick her lips nervously. “We seek to join you, your Empire, we hope to- to- to gain your protection.”

“My protection from what?” Lotor asked.

“The Coalition,” she breathed out.

“I see,” Lotor said slowly, meeting Shiro’s eyes. Shiro shrugged a little but he was smiling encouragingly. Lotor had been silent too long because Lailani spoke again, even more nervous than before.

“Please, Emperor Lotor- we- we- bring tribute,” she said, bowing her head as she held out a stalk of grain. “Straks was hit hard by the war, but we have been rebuilding and we have been sowing, we have much to offer in the way of supplies-”

“Rise,” Lotor interrupted her. “All are welcome in the New Galra Empire. If you will bend the knee you will be welcome in my ranks. I will protect you as best I can.”

Lailani smiled widely, her cheeks growing bright yellow. “What a joy,” she breathed out. “Thank you, thank you so much, Prince- _Emperor_ Lotor. We simply- we just- it’s just- what a joy.”

The others stepped forward then, offering their own symbolic tributes. He accepted more grain, a bright yellow fruit, a shining dagger, and then-

“In honor of your Altean heritage,” the representative from Dihirie said, “we offer you a juniberry- we’re told they signify life and rebirth in your culture-”

_“Here we are all safe and warm.”_

Lotor stared as the representative kept talking, stared at the flower in his hands. It shouldn’t have been possible but he could smell it, a sickly sweetness rising up to his nostrils, a sweetness tinged with iron.

_“Here we are all safe and warm.”_

“-we hope to cement the peace between our peoples-”

The world was fading around him, growing darker. He tried to fight it but he was already so lightheaded. He needed to get a hold of himself, he needed to-

_“Here we are all safe and warm.”_

There was a faint ringing in his ears growing steadily stronger, his skin tingled unpleasantly.

_“Here we are-”_

“The juniberry represents death and remembrance,” he heard himself say coldly.

“Oh? I- we didn’t- we didn’t mean to offend you-” the representative from Dihirie said.

_“Here we are all safe and warm.”_

He couldn’t breathe, he couldn't _breathe._ He could feel her- she was _here_. But she couldn’t be, he- he’d killed her. Hadn’t he? There was static ringing through his ears, and through it all he couldn’t drag his eyes away from the flower, so painfully close-

_“Here we are all safe and-”_

“The Emperor is needed elsewhere,” someone was saying and there was a firm hand pressing against his lower back and he still couldn’t _breathe_. He was- he was-

He was safe and warm.

 

***** Part XIII: Lotor *****

 

_“It’s horrible,” Lotor said quietly as he looked out at the dead field._

_“This is what war is,” the Empress said. “This is what war does. This is what I am trying to reverse.”_

_“What do you mean?” Lotor asked. It was already too late, they were standing in a field of ashes._

_The Empress laughed, the sound of it like the tinkling of bells, cold and sweet. “What is death to us? We are the life givers.”_

_She closed her eyes and raised her hands and she was- she was glowing, and then the very ground, the very air, was glowing too. Ashes drew together, rising, and Lotor had to shield his eyes from the strength of it, from the blinding light that filled his vision._

_When he drew his hand away it was to see a field of juniberries, vibrant and blossoming, where there had only been death before._

_“How did you-” he breathed out._

_“It’s so simple, my darling. Would you like me to teach you?”_

_“Yes,” Lotor said vehemently. “Yes.”_

_“No,” Shiro hissed._

_They were standing in a garden in the Empress’ Command Ship, surrounded by juniberries. It was so beautiful, so peaceful. “No,” Shiro said, raising his hands to Lotor’s face. “I don’t think we can trust her,” he whispered. “I think she’s- I think they’re the Altean Empire from the reality with the comet. I think we-”_

_“Shiro,” Lotor said, “please. Don’t you see? Now that she’s here anything is possible- we can go home, I can-”_

_“Lotor,” Shiro said forcefully, warning him._

_“Please,” Lotor breathed out. “She can-”_

_“She can’t!” Shiro said. “Don’t you realize this is too good to be true? No one can bring back the dead- no one.”_

_“How can you be so sure?” Lotor fired back. “I saw her! I saw her do it- she said she can teach me. I can- I can fix all my mistakes-”_

_“We’ve all made mistakes,” Shiro said. “Not all of them can be fixed. Please- please, Lotor. Please listen to me.”_

_The air smelled so sweet, so beautiful. He couldn’t think straight, but he didn’t need to. He was so close, he just needed-_

_“We should go,” Shiro said, taking his hands. “Please-”_

_“Do you see it?” the Empress asked, motioning at the field of flowers around them, swaying in the gentle breeze._

_“Yes,” Lotor said with a smile. He could see it, he could see the way life itself thrummed through everything around him._

_“Good, my darling, now I just need you to take hold, I need you to pull.”_

_“Yes,” Lotor said and did as she told him._

_“Go on then,” she whispered._

_He pulled on the strands before him and slowly the juniberries withered away. “Wait-” he said in horror, “wait, no- that’s not-”_

_“You must learn how to take before you can learn to give,” she said sweetly. “Come now, my darling, surely you’re not this naive?_

_He let go but it was already too late, death and darkness was spreading through the field, and then one of her attendants fell lifeless to the grass._

_“Oh no- no,” Lotor breathed out. “Did I-? You- you have to help him. You can help him, can’t you?”_

_The Empress looked down at the corpse dispassionately. “Why shall I bother? He’s just a slave. I have so many more just like him.”_

_It was a struggle to hold back tears as he shoved his things into a bag, grabbing the books she’d given him, the tablets, the crystals. Shiro had been right all along, how could he have been so foolish? How could he have been so blinded by empty promises?_

_He flinched and turned when he heard the door to his rooms open, and of course it was her._

_“Are you going somewhere, my pet?” she asked with a soft smile. Her voice was so cold, had it always been so cold?_

_“No,” he tried. “No, I- I’m just-”_

_She tilted her head to the side, still smiling. “You know I can’t have that. If you won’t be obedient, I will have to make you so.”_

_Before he knew it she was on him, grabbing him by the throat to drag him away. He struggled as best he could but she was so strong._

_She took him to the throne room and shoved him to his knees. Her Generals were there, one of them held a hoktril in his hands._

_“No,” he said. “You can’t- I know you can’t. I won’t submit.”_

_“I think you will, my pet,” she said as she sat on her throne. At a gesture the doors opened and two guards came in, dragging- they were dragging Shiro between them, bruised and bloodied. Lotor thought he may pass out from terror- Shiro was supposed to be safe on their ship, he was supposed to be waiting to meet him in the next system over-_

_“I’ll make it simple for you,” the Empress crooned as her guards tossed Shiro to the ground. He groaned and curled into himself and Lotor’s only consolation was that he was still alive._

_“Surrender. Obey. Accept your fate. And if you do- I promise to let him go.”_

_“Lotor, don’t,” Shiro said, fighting to lift his head, fighting to look at him._

_“I’ll kill him otherwise,” the Empress said cooly. “What shall it be?”_

_“I-” Lotor managed, caught and terrified. He’d done this to them- he should have listened._

_“Don’t,” Shiro said. “Lotor-”_

_One of the guards kicked him and there was a sickening crack as Shiro cried out and Lotor shut his eyes, shaking._

_“I’ll only wait for you so long, my pet,” the Empress said._

_“I-” Lotor breathed out, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I won’t. I can’t.”_

_“Very well,” the Empress said with a disappointed sigh._

_Shiro managed to turn his head, and when he looked up he was smiling grimly._

_“Kill him,” the Empress ordered._

_“Don’t look,” Shiro said. “Don’t. It’s- it’s alright-”_

_But Lotor couldn’t look away as one of the guards raised his sword, getting ready to strike._

_“No!” he cried out. “No- no, I’ll do it. I’ll do it, anything. Please, just-”_

_“Lotor, no!” Shiro yelled, but the Empress was already taking Lotor by the throat and there was a sharp pain at the back of his head, worse than anything he’d ever felt before._

_“Don’t fight it, my pet,” she said sweetly. “Don’t fight it, and I’ll let him live.”_

_Lotor sobbed through the agony, and then it was over._

_The fish were so beautiful as they swam in the fountain, so beautiful with the way their scales caught the light, gold and silver twining together. The air smelled sweet, and somewhere at the back of his awareness there was the unpleasant tinge of iron, but it was so far away. Someone was braiding his hair, someone was stroking his hand with warm gentle fingers. Everything was warm, even the air._

_He was safe and warm._

_Here they were all safe and warm._

 

***** Part XIV: Lotor *****

 

Except- except he wasn’t warm at all. He was freezing cold and wet and shivering. He was- he was shirtless and kneeling and icy water was pelting him, and someone was behind him, holding him with strong arms as they both shivered.

Lotor jerked in alarm but the arms tightened around him, holding him still. He tried to turn his face up and jerked again, sputtering and gasping for breath as water poured into his mouth, his nose.

“Shh, it’s alright,” someone- _Shiro-_ said and Lotor sagged back into his hold with a shuddering sigh.

“Where-”

“We’re back on Dayak’s ship, in our quarters,” Shiro said quietly. “It’s alright, you’re alright now.”

“What happened,” he forced out, gritting his teeth to try and stop the shaking.

“Someone thought it would be nice to give you a flower,” Shiro said, turning his face into Lotor’s neck, pressing his nose up behind his ear. “But it’s alright now.”

His memories returned slowly, the Kral Zera, the alien delegation-

“ _Fuck_ ,” he cursed. “Fuck! Did they- did everyone see?” If they saw his breakdown it was all over.

“No, it’s alright. I got you out of there before the worst of it.”

“Fuck,” Lotor whispered, closing his eyes.

“It’s alright, we’ll just have to be more careful. We shouldn’t be letting any strangers around you anyway, especially with unscreened gifts. From now on proper audiences only, we can’t just have people showing up.”

Shiro was so calm as he talked that Lotor couldn’t help relaxing against him further.

“Are you ready to get dried off?” Shiro asked, stroking his arms.

Lotor shook his head. “Just a little longer,” he said. He could still smell juniberries, faint but there all the same.

“Alright,” Shiro said. “Just a little longer.”

Slowly the smell faded and Lotor finally reached out to turn off the water. His hands were shaking almost too hard to manage it, his fingers stiff with the cold. In the sudden silence he could hear his own teeth chattering, or maybe it was Shiro, or more likely- both of them.

“I’m sorry,” Lotor said as Shiro helped him up.

“Hey,” Shiro said, taking his face in his hands. “We’re alright, we’re ok now.”

“I don’t think I can take off my pants,” Lotor muttered, looking down at himself. The cloth was wet and sticking to him and his hands were still numb, his fingers shaking too hard to manage the clasps.

“Come here,” Shiro said with a smile and Lotor stepped forward and let him help, sighing as he pressed his face against Shiro’s neck.

They got dried off and he made to leave with just a towel wrapped around his hips but Shiro pulled him back and handed him a robe. “You’ll want that, I think.”

“Why?” Lotor asked, but as soon as he stepped out into the bedroom he heard meowing and Kova was jumping to climb up his body and Narti was there, pulling him into her arms. “Oh,” he breathed out.

“I don’t know how she knew but she’s been here the whole time. I thought you might like to see her.”

_You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have done that for me._

Lotor couldn’t help smiling as he hugged her. “It was worth it, Narti. It was worth it to get you back.”

“You need to get some rest,” Shiro said, putting a hand on his lower back. “Uh- Narti. We don’t exactly know each other very well but I know Lotor trusts you. You could- I think it would be alright if you wanted to stay?”

Narti smiled as she let Lotor go and stepped back, shaking her head. She reached out to put her hand on Shiro’s cheek and Shiro’s eyes widened as he started to blush furiously.

Kova jumped back on her shoulder and she turned to go.

“What did she say to you?” Lotor asked.

“She said- ‘I know what you’ve done in that bed,’” Shiro said, sounding completely mortified. “I mean, we’ve- we’ve changed the sheets.”

Lotor laughed, suddenly feeling so much better.

“Come,” he said, taking Shiro by the hand. “Let’s make such a mess that we’ll need to change them again.”

 

***** Part XV: Acxa *****

 

“Ugh,” Acxa groaned, dropping her face into her hands as the communicator rang again. “This torture is endless,” she complained.

Ezor had the audacity to laugh as if all three of them, Zethrid included, weren’t trapped in their own personal nightmare. “Aren’t you going to answer?”

Acxa sighed heavily and answered the call, wincing at the unintelligible panicked ranting on the line. “Slow down,” she said and listened for a few more doboshes. “Slow the fuck down!” she yelled when she couldn’t take it anymore.

There was a moment of blessed silence before the ranting resumed, only slightly slower. At least it was slow enough for her to finally make out the issue- it was a Unilu merchant who now found his business split between Empire and Coalition territory; upon crossing the border the Coalition had confiscated his cargo and were detaining it while they searched it.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do about that?”

 _“I demand to be compensated for the delay!”_ the Unilu sputtered.

“Take it up with the Coalition! We’re not the ones who confiscated your shipment!”

_“This wouldn’t be happening if your Emperor hadn’t shown up and demanded a complete restructuring of territories- re-drawing borders everywhere and causing havoc-”_

Acxa sighed and closed her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she listened. “Well- we’re- we’re _sorry_ about that,” she spat out.

_“You don’t sound very sorry!”_

“The official position of the Galra Empire is that we’re sorry!” she snarled and slammed the button to end the transmission. “I wish Lotor had just executed me, this is excruciating,” she muttered. “Ezor, please switch jobs with me.”

“He said we weren’t allowed to switch,” Ezor said sadly as she went back to going over records of… something. Acxa wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing, maybe- working out a tax system? Ezor was notoriously terrible with money and completely ill-suited to her task, which was of course why Lotor had assigned it to her. They were being punished.

Axca’s mouth turned down into a sour grimace as the communicator rang again. This time it was someone from some planet she’d never heard of screaming about how they were not going to bow down to a Galra governor being sent to their backwards town, and Acxa spent twenty doboshes trying to convince the caller that the Empire had no intentions of encroaching on the governance of self-sufficient provinces. By the end of the call the woman on the other line still didn’t seem convinced and demanded to speak to Acxa’s supervisor, at which point Axca told her to go fuck herself and hung up in a rage.

There were more calls after that, endless waves of scared and angry people that wanted to know what would happen to them now that they were technically within Galra territory. She explained over and over that no harm would come to them, even though it was mostly useless.

“Arghh!” Zethrid yelled, jerking out of her chair before slamming her fists into the table she’d been working at and leaving a huge dent. “This is useless! I tire of this cruel game!”

“Uh, you alright?” Ezor asked with a wince.

“I-I-” Zethrid stuttered as she stood over the table, her chest heaving. “This is impossible! There are almost a hundred crew manifests, thousands of crew members! How can I be expected to rearrange all of them by hand? And no more than three members from any one original crew can be placed together, and each ship must have at least one engineer, medical officer, technician, and- and-”

“Breathe,” Ezor said soothingly.

“Some of these manifests don’t even have job placement information! One captain just sent in a scrap of metal with designation numbers scratched into it!”

“Zethrid, switch with me,” Acxa said desperately. Going through endless lists of names seemed so much better than trying to comfort strangers over the comms.

“He said we weren’t allowed to switch,” Zethrid said as she sat back down and stared at the mess she’d made. “What’s even the point? He’s probably already figured out at least three different ways to do it. He just wants me to suffer.”

“He wants all of us to suffer,” Acxa muttered, ignoring the next call.

“I guess it could be worse,” Ezor said.

“ _How?_ ” Acxa and Zethrid demanded in unison.

Ezor shrugged. “At least this means he still cares enough about us to torture us, right?”

“I wish I was dead,” Acxa muttered and answered the next call.

 

***** Part XVI: Shiro *****

 

“Good morning,” Shiro said with a smile when Lotor opened his eyes.

“Is it?” Lotor asked blearily.

“It’s about to be,” Shiro said as he slid down his body, pressing kisses down his chest and stomach and the sensitive crease where his thigh met his groin. When he took Lotor’s cock in his mouth Lotor gasped quietly and relaxed under him, and Shiro smiled.

They didn’t usually do this- morning sex. Neither of them were morning people, even though their lifestyles had driven it into them. But today was special and Shiro didn’t mind starting a little early. He licked a stripe up the bottom of Lotor’s cock before moving back to suck him in earnest, reveling in Lotor’s small sighs and bit-off gasps.

He didn’t rush, enjoying every bit of what he was doing, every sound Lotor made as he drove him onwards. He pulled back after a while to slick his fingers and push them inside Lotor as he swallowed down his cock.

“Shiro!” Lotor gasped helplessly and Shiro smiled at the sound of it. The angle was a little awkward but he didn’t have to keep going for long. He sucked Lotor down while he fingered him, slow but firm, and soon Lotor was clutching the sheets and shuddering against him, whimpering nonsense while Shiro drove him onward.

“Shiro- ah!” Lotor managed before he was coming, and Shiro drank him down enthusiastically, loving the way Lotor’s pheromones raged through his system and made him feel hot and out of control. He pulled back to stroke himself quickly, keeping his face pressed to Lotor’s hip, enjoying the way Lotor clutched at his hair.

When it was over he pulled back with a grin and moved to kiss Lotor slowly, lingering over his lips, his neck, his shoulders.

They ate breakfast still in their dressing gowns, and when it was time to put on real clothes Lotor went for his imperial black and purple armor and Shiro had to hold him back.

“No, not that,” Shiro said. “Put that on,” he said, pointing to his old space suit. It was mostly tan, battered and dusty, entirely unfitting for a Prince, much less an Emperor. “And change your skin, too- personally I’m dying to see you in green but I’ll leave that up to you.”

“I’m not going to be green,” Lotor said with a laugh. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not the expert on time slippage that you are, but even so I’m pretty sure today is your birthday.”

Lotor’s eyes widened slightly with surprise and pleasure. “But didn’t we just do this ritual a deca-phoeb ago?”

“That’s how birthdays work,” Shiro said with a laugh. “You’ll get the hang of it one of these days. Come on- we’re going out.”

“Alright,” Lotor said, smiling as his skin shifted from Galra purple to Altean brown, purple marks standing out over his cheeks. Shiro’s heart ached sweetly from the nostalgia of it, remembering their first few months on Alternate Altea in delta five, the first time they’d made love, their first adventure.

Lotor’s hair was longer now than it had been then, but the anticipation of playing hookie from his duties for the day had him smiling the same way he had the first time he activated their Teleduv- excited and full of joy.

They grabbed two dark cloaks out of the wardrobe and put on their helmets to sneak through the ship, making a game of evading the guards. When they got to the hangar Lotor hacked the controls so they could grab a shuttle without needing to put in an access code and then they were flying towards Daibazaal.

“What do you want to do first?” Shiro asked as he landed in a modest airfield next to a huge silver and red ship, the colors of the Republic of Straks. Dozens of aliens were unloading cargo- crates of grain and fruits, strange-looking vegetables and other supplies. Four more ships from Straks hovered above, and behind them other shipments from their new allies- the Dihirie, the Xunqron, more that Shiro didn’t recognize.

“I want to see my Empire,” Lotor grinned, “my homeland. I’ve only seen the Parliament building so far. And- and I want a Peritan Tart. If they have them here.”

“So it sounds like we should head to the market,” Shiro said, taking off the helmet of his space suit and pulling up the hood of his cloak as Lotor followed his lead. They left the ship hand in hand and headed towards the town center.

Even with the war little more than four years behind them, the only major settlement on Daibazaal was already a vibrant town, with more construction happening everywhere around them. Many of the citizens were Galra but there were plenty of other alien races as well, tourists as well as crowds of refugees. The main part of the town was surrounded by makeshift lodgings- broken down shuttles and tents, pieces of fighter ships repurposed into lean-to shelters and roughly built huts.

Lotor had drawn up plans for his vision of the city and ordered the construction of lodgings and other facilities, but it would be a while yet until the work was finished. With more people arriving every day the focus had shifted to infrastructure- building roads and wells and storage facilities, setting up plumbing and underground power stations running on Balmera crystals.

The atmosphere was lively, if tense- even with all the recent improvements, no one knew what to make of Lotor’s reign quite yet.

They found the market easily enough and walked through the stalls arranged in haphazard lines, past fruit vendors and weapons dealers and clothing stalls, and stranger things that Shiro had no name for. The air was rich with the smell of spices and cooking meat mixing with the scent of engine grease and dust, flowers and sweets. No one gave them a second look, they were just two nameless travelers like all the rest.

“There,” Lotor said, pointing towards a Unilu standing at a cart. Shiro watched as the Unilu took what looked like a smooth wooden stick and dipped it into a large canister, pulling it out to reveal that the stick was now coated in something bright blue and shimmering. Lotor dragged him over and held up two fingers as he grinned at the vendor. “We’ll take two Sestek Bars.”

“It’s fifteen hundred GAC,” the vendor said, which was the exact moment Shiro realized they didn’t have any money, not money from this dimension at least. But that had never stopped Lotor before.

“I seem to have left my wallet in my other armor,” he said with a grin. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a handful of random-looking items: coins from at least eleven different cultures, a few brightly-colored stones, a small crystal, a spool of silver wire, a ring inset with a dark piece of wood in the shape of a crescent moon, a vial of strong-smelling oil, and an earring that glowed oddly.

“Counter offer,” Lotor said confidently, “one shiny stone.”

The Unilu’s vendor’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, grinning with excitement. “Your first-born child,” he said.

“A lock of my hair.”

“Your right hand, and your companion serves me for a deca-phoeb.”

“Two shiny stones and a coin from an ancient culture.” Lotor held up a copper Groggery, one of Alternate Altea’s crown bills.

Shiro hid his smile behind his hand as he watched Lotor haggle the Unilu down to four shiny stones and a small wooden token and then Lotor was grinning and handing him a blue bar.

It was cold and tasted like electricity and blueberries, if blueberries were sour as well as sweet. Shiro laughed as they walked away with their arms linked together.

“You’re good at that,” he murmured. “You could make a whole life out of haggling if you wanted.”

“I have before,” Lotor said with an easy laugh. “This was nothing. My proudest bargain? I got an entire B57-X engine in return for a strip cut from my cloak and an old weapons schematic.”

“I’m sure if I knew what a B57-X engine was, I’d be very impressed,” Shiro said, taking another taste of the Sestek Bar.

They wandered until they finished their sweets, and then Lotor drew up short. As soon as Shiro realized what he was looking at his heart sank with fear and worry. It was a plain brick wall that bore a mural of Lotor’s face, surrounded by confused messages.

_Murderer_

_Savior_

_Galra Scum_

_Halfbreed_

_Peace Bringer_

There were so many more but Shiro couldn’t focus on them. There were lit candles and flowers scattered along the bottom, and a young boy standing before it, holding something like a piece of chalk.

“Hey-” Shiro said and the boy turned fearfully and ran, dropping the chalk behind him.

Lotor stepped forward slowly, running his fingers over the messages.

_Conqueror_

_Liar_

_Emperor_

_Traitor_

_Thief_

“Lotor,” Shiro said carefully as Lotor bent down to pick up the chalk. “It’s alright, they just don’t understand yet-”

Lotor reached out and used the chalk to draw a bushy curling mustache over his image’s face, something not unlike what Coran had. And then he stepped back and laughed, taking it all in. Shiro couldn’t help laughing with him, and then he took the chalk from his hand and wrote-

_Great in bed_

“Shiro!” Lotor said, still laughing. “There are children here-”

“It’s not like I wrote _amazing cock_ ,” Shiro said with a grin as he wrote-

_Best hair in the Universe_

“Not just this Universe, either,” Lotor said and Shiro took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Let’s see, what else can we add to make this a little more accurate?” Shiro mused.

“Hey!” someone called out and Shiro turned to see six Galra soldiers coming towards them.

“Uh-oh, busted,” he muttered, glancing over at Lotor. “Should we run?”

“No,” Lotor said as he let his skin return to its natural shade of purple. “We don’t have to run anymore.”

“Defacing the Emperor’s image is a crime,” one of the soldiers said as they got closer.

“According to who?” Lotor asked, pulling back the hood of his cloak as he turned.

The soldiers froze in shock.

“Emperor Lotor,” one of them said in surprise before dropping to one knee and bringing his fist up to his chest. “Vrepit Sa.” The others followed his lead and silence slowly stole over the market as people realized something was happening, realized their Emperor was standing in their midst.

“Let the people speak their minds,” Lotor announced. “You’re here to keep the peace, not harass my subjects.”

“Yes, Emperor Lotor,” the soldier who’d first spoken said. “Apologies, Emperor Lotor.”

“Please tell me you haven’t arrested anyone for this so-called crime,” Lotor said.

The Galra winced and licked his lips nervously.

“I see,” Lotor said. “Release them at once, make sure to apologize to them personally.”

“Yes, Emperor Lotor.”

“In fact- take me there. I want to see all the prisoners for myself and judge if their sentences are warranted.”

“Yes, Emperor Lotor,” the Galra said with a gulp as he stood.

“This is how you want to spend your birthday?” Shiro whispered to him.

“What can be more fun than going through prisoner manifests?” Lotor asked with a small smile before turning to one of the other Galra soldiers. “You- what’s your name?”

“Brack, Emperor Lotor.”

“Well met, Brack- I assume you have money, do you not?”

“Uh… yes?” Brack said in confusion.

“Very good. See if you can purchase some Peritan Tarts for me, and if not- get something else. Something sweet.”

“Uh- yes, Sire. Right away.”

“Well?” Lotor said, turning to the other soldiers now staring at him. He arched his brow pointedly. “Let’s proceed.”

Shiro pasted an impassive expression over his face while he followed a few respectful paces behind Lotor’s shoulder. Eating sweets in prison- not the best birthday celebration they’d ever had. Not the worst either.

“Captain Shirogane,” Lotor said, pausing and turning to him.

“Yes, Sire?” Shiro asked blandly.

“It would be polite of you to offer your Emperor your arm, would it not?”

“Certainly, Sire,” Shiro said with a small smile as he stepped forward. They looked at each other for a moment, and then Shiro offered his arm and Lotor took it, squeezing his wrist gently. Definitely not the worst birthday at all.

 

***** Part XVII: Keith *****

 

Keith landed his shuttle in the airfield outside the city and climbed out to see a transport already waiting with a Galra soldier in the driver’s seat.

“Welcome Paladins,” the soldier said with a respectful nod as they walked out.

“Are we,” Lance muttered and Pidge nudged him in the side.

“Thank you,” Keith said, ignoring the commotion behind him.

“It is my honor to escort you to the Unity Banquet,” the soldier said.

Keith nodded and climbed up into the transport, the others following behind him. He looked around wide-eyed as they moved through the city- because it was more than a town now- taking the scenic route towards the Parliament Building. It was mind-boggling how much Lotor had accomplished in the scant few months he’d been Emperor.

He had a massive military force at his disposal, and he’d turned them towards construction, patrolling trade routes, overseeing mining and harvesting operations. His allies had provided him with resources as tribute, and the main settlement on New Daibazaal was thriving. The streets were paved with black volcanic stone that reflected the brightly colored lanterns hanging from every awning and above every door, creating the illusion that they were traveling over water, not stone. There were lanterns floating in the air above them too, making the whole scene seem dreamlike and somehow full of magic.

They passed the bustling main market square, no longer the mess of stalls that Keith remembered from the last time he’d been here, but an airy construction of elegant beams and twisting ladders and lifts that rose five stories high.

Keith flinched as he felt a faint tremor go through the ground beneath them and the Galra soldier chuckled. “It’s just the underground transport,” he said. “It’s still under construction, but soon enough it will be used to transport supplies to and from the outlying provinces, and later- perhaps by civilians as well.”

“Since when are there outlying provinces?” Hunk asked.

“Two phoebs ago Emperor Lotor ordered the construction of farms growing genetically modified crops. The first harvest is to be brought in within the cycle.”

Keith stared as he watched a Galra soldier help an elderly Unilu woman cross the street while she smiled and joked with him. Afterwards she patted him on the cheek fondly before tottering away.

“Ok this is… not what I expected,” Hunk said, staring too.

“I told you,” Keith said. “Shiro wouldn’t be with him if he was some kind of monster. Look at this- what he’s built. This is amazing.”

There were banquet tables set up for the public around the edges of the square before the Parliament building and couples dancing around a group of musicians. The Galra soldier stopped the transport in front of a large obsidian statue of a cat, or maybe a lion, where two more soldiers were waiting to greet them.

“Welcome, Paladins,” they said with polite nods before leading them through the crowd towards the Parliament building. It was quieter inside, but Keith could still hear music echoing through the halls.

“Apologies for the inconvenience, this is just a formality,” one of the soldiers said once they got to a security checkpoint in the hallway. “You may present your gifts for inspection.”

“Right,” Keith said, stepping forward. He handed over the narrow box wooden he’d brought, and watched as one of the soldiers opened it and smiled at the Luxite blade appreciatively before handing it back.

Hunk had brought a basket bearing a variety of cookies, a mixture of Earth classics and more exotic flavors, most of them his own recipes. Pidge had a small remote-controlled drone, the latest prototype from her research facility on Earth. Everything was going fine until Lance presented his gift and the soldiers scowled at him, bristling with anger.

“Juniberries are banned on New Daibazaal,” one of them said, taking the vase Lance was holding and dumping it out into a nearby bin before handing it back.

“Hey!” Lance cried out. “I grew those myself-”

“Juniberries are banned,” the other soldier said firmly. “You may present the vase.”

“Great,” Lance muttered as the soldiers stepped apart to let them pass. “That’s just- rude.”

“Relax,” Keith said as they continued down the corridor to the main hall. “The gifts are just a formality, it doesn’t matter what they are. At least you still have the vase.”

“Well _excuse_ me,” Lance said. “What the hell- what’s wrong with him? He doesn’t like flowers?”

“Uh. I don’t think that’s it,” Hunk said, his eyes wide with wonder as they stepped into the main hall.

The walls were hung with banners in black and purple, and there were white and lilac flowers everywhere- on the long banquet tables, standing in tall stone vases at the edges of the room, hanging from the walls in elaborate garlands. Colored lanterns much like the ones they’d seen in the streets hung from the ceiling, casting a soft warm glow over the hall.

A soft murmur of conversation filled the room as the assembled guests milled around and spoke to each other. Keith recognized a few- Leilani from Straks, a few Blades, some Galra Commanders he’d previously come to blows with, Lotor’s former Generals. Some of the guests wore sashes that marked them as members of Lotor’s various councils. Thirteen men and women- most of them non-Galra- wore the white sash of the Civil Council. Seven others wore the red sash of the War Council, including Acxa, Lahn, and surprisingly enough- Dayak. There were even more that wore the purple sash marking them as members of Lotor’s newly-established Parliament. There were dozens of them- representatives from all the planets and major territories now under Lotor’s control.

Lotor himself sat on a raised dais at the head of the room in a simple low-backed throne made of obsidian, accepting gifts from the newly-arrived guests. Shiro stood beside him with his elbow casually resting on the back of the throne. He held a glass of what looked like champagne in his other hand, and he laughed as he bent down to whisper something in Lotor’s ear. Lotor laughed too as he plucked the glass out of Shiro’s hand and drained it before handing it off to a waiting sentry.

Keith frowned a little, struck all over again by the weird intimacy between them. When he’d last seen Shiro a year ago, he’d nearly killed Lotor right in front of him. And now they were laughing together and drinking out of the same glass, and- and it was just bizarre.

“We should probably go up there,” Pidge said.

“Yeah,” Keith agreed, getting himself together. He took the lead as they walked towards the dais, and saw the exact moment when Shiro noticed them. He straightened, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

“Hey, Keith!” Shiro said happily, and at least that much hadn’t changed. “Hunk, Pidge, Lance- it’s so good to see you.”

“Welcome, Paladins,” Lotor said with a sedate nod.

“Thank you,” Keith said stiffly, still not exactly comfortable with the situation. “Uh. We brought- gifts.”

“How gracious,” Lotor said.

“Do we-” Keith started and broke off. “What now?”

Shiro laughed and leaned down to whisper something in Lotor’s ear and Lotor nodded, smiling.

“Don’t worry about it,” Shiro said as he stepped off the dais. “Can I see?”

“Yeah,” Keith said.

Shiro seemed impressed at the dagger and at Pidge’s drone. He seemed a little perplexed at the vase but thanked Lance for it all the same. When Hunk handed over the basket of cookies, though, Shiro grinned widely. “Wow- is that chocolate chip? I haven’t had chocolate in… decades. This is- Hunk. Thank you.”

He reached out to ruffle Hunk’s hair before he took the basket and passed it over to a waiting sentry along with the other gifts. “Let me show you around,” he offered.

He showed the four of them through the hall, introducing them to various guests and urging them to try the food and drinks. Keith felt a little dazed at it all, the opulence around them, at the way Shiro seemed to be so perfectly in his element. Eventually the others seemed to drift away. Pidge got sucked into a conversation with three of Lotor’s engineers, one of them wearing a white sash. Hunk was laughing as he talked to Dayak and Lahn, and Lance had wandered off to flirt with a group of young women in flowing purple dresses.

And then it was just Keith and Shiro, and Keith startled a little as Shiro draped an arm over his shoulders. “Come on,” he said, “there’s something I want to show you.”

Keith followed as Shiro led him out of the hall and towards a twisting staircase, through a set of double doors. They ended up on a wide balcony overlooking the main square in front of the Parliament building. The whole city was laid out below them, sparkling with lanterns and ringing with music and laughter. The desert air was dry and pleasantly cool and Shiro sighed as he leaned against the railing and Keith moved to stand beside him.

Finally they were alone and no one was trying to kill them, finally Keith could ask what he’d been aching to know for so long. “Shiro,” he started quietly. “What _happened_ to you? Why did you leave? What does Lotor have to do with any of it?”

“Keith,” Shiro said, running his hand through his hair. “I- I really screwed up. I’m sorry. I know I hurt you- all of you. It wasn’t- I wasn’t trying to-”

“Of course you weren’t,” Keith said, putting a hand on his arm.

“It was the Atlas,” Shiro said quietly. He smiled a little, looking down into the city below. “It’s so strange to talk about it now- it’s been ages. But not for you, I guess. The Atlas- it was like a sentient thing, like a living creature. We were connected. It started- I guess I still don’t really know. But it started _feeding_ on me, taking me over.”

“Oh,” Keith breathed out, shriveling with guilt. He should have seen it, should have seen that Shiro was pulling away, fading, that something was eating him alive. He’d known that something was wrong when Shiro missed Allura’s day, even before then. And still he hadn’t _done_ anything. “Hell,” he said. “I should have seen it, Shiro. I should have-”

“Hey,” Shiro said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders again to drag him closer. “It wasn’t your fault, ok? It wasn’t anyone’s fault. We really- we were messing with things we shouldn’t have been, things we didn’t understand, but it’s not like we had better options at the time. And it turned out ok, in the end.”

“Because of Lotor,” Keith said.

“Yeah,” Shiro said, a strange soft warmth entering his eyes. “I found him in the ruins of Oriande almost as soon as the war ended. Maybe I shouldn’t have kept it a secret, but I- I was scared. I didn’t know what to do. But he saved me, Keith. And not just then. What we’ve been through over the past twenty years-

“He’s just- we were so wrong about him. He’s amazing. He’s really trying to do the right thing, and I think he can. I think he can build something really good here if we just- _help_ him.”

“Yeah,” Keith said, thinking back to everything Lotor had done since he and Shiro returned, thinking about what he’d seen in the city on the way to the feast. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”

Shiro grinned at him, wide and open and so happy. There was the sound of a door opening and they both turned to see Lotor standing at the entrance to the balcony, holding two glasses of wine.

“Apologies,” he said. “I thought Shiro was here alone- I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll go.”

“No,” Keith said. “You’re not interrupting.” He looked up at Shiro beside him and saw the way he seemed perfectly relaxed and at ease. He wanted Lotor here, and suddenly Keith felt like he was the interloper. “I was about to head back down to the hall, anyway.”

Lotor stepped closer and Shiro took one of the glasses he was holding, taking a sip with a smile.

“Lotor,” Keith said awkwardly. “I- I’m sorry. It looks like we- we really fucked up, as far as you were concerned. We shouldn’t have-” he broke off, shrugging a little. “Jumped to conclusions, assumed the worst. We shouldn’t have… left you. Back in the rift.”

“It’s in the past,” Lotor said firmly. “I left my anger behind long ago, although I appreciate the apology.”

“Ok,” Keith said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ok, well- I’m going to- I’m going to go.”

He wasn’t sure why he felt so flustered as he left the balcony and headed back into the main hall, but he felt more at ease as he entered the room. The other Paladins seemed to be having a good time, and then he caught sight of Lotor’s Generals and smiled as they waved him over. He couldn’t help laughing as they complained about the various torture Lotor had inflicted on them- paperwork and filing, meetings and pointless busywork.

Most of it seemed to be over now. Acxa was on the war council and Ezor and Zethrid were involved in some sort of outreach program, helping refugees and overseeing construction of housing and infrastructure. Narti was on the civil council, a representative for Lotor’s diplomats, and Keith grinned as she shared some of the funny stories that had happened to her- showing him the scenes through telepathy.

And then Acxa challenged him to a drinking contest and things grew a little hazy. They went out to the main square for some reason- dancing with the locals and trying the food being served up there, simpler fare than what was being served in the main hall but no less delicious. They tried the ale and sparkling wine, the small sweet tarts stacked in tall pyramids on stone pedestals and obsidian platters, the sugary confections in the shape of stars and flowers.

Slowly the square emptied and Narti bid them goodnight and Ezor and Zethrid snuck off somewhere, and eventually it was just Keith and Acxa giggling about something as they sat on the statue of the obsidian lion in the center of the square.

“You seem happy,” Keith said, looking up at the stars.

“I am,” Acxa said quietly. “It’s not how I expected to feel, with him back. After everything. He’s different now, it’s like- some of the sharp brittle bits have been stripped away. He’s… lighter.”

Keith thought about Shiro and the way he smiled now, the way he’d felt when they’d formed Voltron. The shadows were gone from his eyes. “Yeah,” he said.

They talked about something else then, something easy and light that Keith didn’t remember afterwards. And then she was taking his hand and walking him back, pulling him into a hug before sending him on his way.

Lotor had assigned the Paladins rooms in the Parliament building, and Keith found himself lost as he stumbled through the corridors, drunk and confused. Somehow he ended up back in the foyer before the main hall, empty and dark now. One of the huge doors was cracked open and Keith frowned as he heard something strange from beyond- like a gasp, or a groan. Was someone hurt?

He was dizzy as he stepped forward and peered inside. The hall was lit only by moonlight playing over the tables bearing empty plates and knocked over cups, lighting up the flowers still strewn about the room and arranged on every surface. It took him a minute to find the source of the sounds, and then he saw two figures.

One of them was bent over a table while the other was behind him-

Keith’s breath caught in his throat as he realized what he was looking at- it was Shiro and Lotor, and they were- they were-

Shiro moaned quietly and Lotor chuckled, bending down to whisper something into his ear. He moved his left hand to take Shiro’s, twining their fingers together, and as he moved the moonlight caught on something glittering. They were wearing matching rings.

Keith’s mouth fell open in shock. He was drunk, but not so drunk that he’d imagine _this_. Lotor and Shiro were fucking right in front of him and they were wearing matching rings.

Lotor straightened with a quiet laugh and then he looked up- right at Keith- and froze.

He needed to leave. This was- he wasn’t supposed to be here, seeing this. But he felt rooted to the floor as Lotor stared at him.

“Why did you stop, you bastard?” Shiro huffed out, shifting restlessly. He moved as if to look up and- and he was going to catch Keith here too. His blood was ice in his veins. Why couldn’t he just _move?_

Lotor reached out to take the back of Shiro’s neck, keeping his face pressed to the table so he wouldn’t see.

“Easy,” he murmured, still staring directly at Keith as he slowly pulled out and thrust back in. Shiro gasped loudly and finally Keith stumbled back, beating a hasty retreat.

Eventually he found their rooms, his head still spinning with what he’d seen.

In the morning he had easily the worst hangover of his life, but it wasn’t enough to make him forget what had happened. Out of everything, the thing he kept thinking about was Shiro’s hand clasped in Lotor’s, their matching rings shining in the moonlight.

“-I just don’t know how,” Pidge was saying as Keith walked into the main room. The other Paladins were already awake. Pidge and Hunk were sitting at a dining table laden with breakfast foods while Lance paced next to them, running his hands through his hair.

“We have to get him away from Lotor,” Lance said, “and then we can figure out what’s really going on. Maybe he’s not possessed, but obviously Lotor has something on him- why else would he stay here instead of coming home?”

“Do you think you’re… uh… overthinking this?” Hunk asked. “It really doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong. He seemed… happy.”

“Too happy,” Lance muttered. “It’s suspicious. I can’t be the only one who thinks so. Keith- what do you think?”

Keith sat down, reaching for a piece of toast. It was red, made of some local grain. He buttered it slowly, still thinking about what he’d seen the previous night, about what Shiro had said on the balcony.

“It’s over, Lance,” he said. “Shiro’s not coming back, and Lotor isn’t going away. It’s time we stopped fighting. It’s all over now.”

Lance looked at him, wide-eyed and speechless. Keith met his gaze firmly and Lance seemed to deflate as he sat down too.

“I don’t want it to be over,” he whispered. “If it’s over, that means- that means she’s really gone _._ Gone for good.”

“Oh, _Lance,”_ Pidge said quietly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“It’s not fair,” he said, his voice trembling. “Everyone came back- Lotor, Shiro, Narti- the _Lions_ . Everyone but her. It’s not _fair!”_ He sobbed loudly and Pidge held him tighter as Hunk put a hand on his shoulder. Keith stood and walked over too, awkward for a moment before he patted Lance’s hair.

“She’s still with us,” he said. “She’s everywhere- in the Lions, in the juniberry fields of New Altea- even here, in the desert and in the light of Daibazaal’s moon. And who knows- maybe she’ll come back to us one day too. But she wouldn’t want us to fight anymore. She’d want peace.”

There was a knock on the door and Keith looked up as Shiro came in. For a second Keith froze, remembering the night before- but Shiro was smiling as usual, without any awkwardness. Maybe Lotor hadn’t told him about Keith being there, seeing.

“Hey, guys-” his smile faded as he took in the scene before him. “Oh-” he breathed out. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

“Allura’s gone,” Lance said with a sniffle.

“Of course she isn’t,” Shiro said.

“What?” Lance asked weakly, looking up at him.

Shiro smiled. “She’s not gone, she’s still with us. She’s the heart of Voltron. Didn’t you feel her?”

“What are you talking about?” Lance asked.

“Maybe it’s because you weren’t in your Lions at the time,” Shiro said thoughtfully. “But I felt her. She’s everywhere, really. But that’s where I felt her the strongest.”

“Really?” Lance breathed out.

“Come on,” Shiro said with a grin. “Get your Lions- we’ll form Voltron so you can see for yourselves.”

“But- we’re not allowed,” Hunk said. “The treaty-”

“It’ll be fine, trust me,” Shiro said. “Just this once. Just so we can all be together one last time.”

As they left the room Keith fell back, nudging Shiro lightly in the side. Shiro looked down at him curiously and Keith leaned closer, lowering his voice. “What, you’re not worried he’s going to divorce you for breaking his treaty?”

Shiro’s eyes widened in surprise and then he grinned, draping an arm around Keith’s shoulders to pull him in closer.

“He should be more worried about me divorcing him,” he said with a laugh, “after all the crap he’s pulled. He pretends to be all prim and proper, but he’s a hurricane.”

“Please, like you’re a saint,” Keith muttered. “You taught a child a death defying hoverbike maneuver, you jumped out of the Atlas and went to infiltrate Sendak’s cruiser on your own, you rammed your ship right into the Altean Command Ship-”

“That last one wasn’t my idea,” Shiro said.

“Yeah right,” Keith said, rolling his eyes. “You’re a menace to society. You two are perfect for each other. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, Keith,” Shiro said quietly. “That means a lot.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence, and then they were calling the Lions to the airfield and climbing up into their cockpits before launching back out into space.

 _“Alright Paladins,”_ Shiro said into the comms. _“One last time- form Voltron.”_

 

***** Epilogue: Lotor *****

 

“Ready?” Lotor asked as he led Shiro to the hangar. His heart was thrumming with excitement. He’d been working on the ship for months now, and it was finally finished.

“Of course,” Shiro said.

“Close your eyes,” Lotor said and waited for Shiro to do as he asked. “Alright, come on.” He took Shiro’s hand and led him inside the cavernous chamber towards their new ship. “We’re here, you can look.”

Shiro opened his eyes and gasped as he took it in. It was an almost perfect replica of the one Zarkon had given them on delta five- on the outside, at least. It was equipped with a Teleduv and powered by two crystals, as well as an auxiliary one for emergencies. The replicator systems and backup communication units were Olkari technology, and it boasted tech from at least five other cultures.

It was an exploration class vessel, but Lotor had made sure its weapons and shields were a match for most cruisers, not to mention it was equipped with stealth technology like the Blade of Marmora used- upgraded, of course. The ship was well suited for long term flights as well as quick trips, fast and maneuverable. Lotor had outdone himself with this one- in some respects it was even more powerful than his Sincline had been.

“Wow,” Shiro breathed out, his eyes glittering.

“So you like it,” Lotor said with a smile.

“Of course I do,” Shiro said, wrapping an arm around his waist. “I can’t wait to fly it.”

“You don’t have to wait much longer, I think we can leave in a few quintants, if we like.”

“What?” Shiro asked, turning to him. “But the Empire-”

“Can function just fine without us,” Lotor said firmly. “The Parliament can take care of day to day tasks, and the Councils are authorized to make decisions on my behalf. And if some true emergency should arise- they’ll know how to reach us.

“Besides- it’s not unprecedented for an Emperor to tour their territories. Before Zarkon’s reign it was standard for the Emperor and their court to take every tenth deca-phoeb to travel and see the state of the Empire. We can do it a little more frequently if we like. And if we happen to venture outside Galra territory… who’s to stop us?”

Shiro laughed. “No one at all. But I think Dayak may have a heart attack.”

Lotor laughed too. “She’ll have our comm signature, she can call as often as she likes to remind me to eat my greens. Come on, Shiro. What do you think? Are you ready for our next adventure?”

Shiro beamed at him, the answer already written all over his face. “Yeah.”

 

 

_fin._

**Author's Note:**

> Synopsis of [Phantom](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17214530): The fic starts about 2 weeks after the final battle of S8, when one of Shiro's teams finds Lotor's body- desiccated and on the verge of death in a healing pod- in the ruins of Oriande. Shiro doesn't know what to do so he secretly smuggles Lotor onto the Atlas. While Lotor slowly recovers Shiro finds himself gradually losing it. Piloting the Atlas is taking a toll on him, and the semi-sentient ship is slowly taking over his mind. It gets worse as the crew dwindles, and when Lotor wakes he tries to help Shiro but by then he's too far gone. When Lotor tries to contact Keith and the Coalition on Shiro's behalf things take a turn for the worst, and Shiro opens a portal into another dimension to take them away.
> 
> The Atlas is seriously damaged in the journey, allowing Lotor to rip Shiro free of its influence. They end up on Alternate Altea, Haggar's perfect world, and start to build a life together, exploring the universe and being awesome. Lotor awakens some of his dormant Altean abilities, like some modest shape shifting (really just changing skin colors) and operating a teleduv.
> 
> Find me on tumblr at [barbitone](http://barbitone.tumblr.com/) and pillowfort also at [barbitone](https://www.pillowfort.io/barbitone)


End file.
